V' 


§ 


University  of  California. 

FROM    THK    LIBRARY   OF 

DR.     FRANCIS     LIEBKR, 
Professor  of  History  and  Law  in  Columbia  College,  New  York. 


THK  GIFT   OF 

MICHAEL     REESE, 

Of  San  Fra^icisco. 
1B73. 


>3h- 


THE 


WAY    OF    LIFE 


.:^*- 


Eivgrswtd  by  W  G  Am-! 


Thus  sailh  the  LORD;  Behold,!  set  before  you  the  Wat  of  Life. 


.- -Ifc 


Thyword  is  alsmp  unto  my  f eet. ai\d  alighmnio  my  path. 


.amBmi©^^-  eiTMBi^  S€M®®1.  WM1®B" 

'    •-.. 146  Chestnut    Strket ^,-- 


THE 


WAY   OF   LIFE. 


BY 

CHARLES    HODGE, 

PROFESSOR  IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  PRINCETON,  N.  J* 


WRITTEN  FOR  THE  AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  UNION,  AND 
REYISED  BY  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  PUBLICATION. 


N  EW    EDITION. 


AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  UNION, 

PHILADELPHIA  : 

NO.  146  CHESTNUT  STREET, 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  184],  by  Herman  Cope, 
Treasurer,  in  trust  for  the  American  SuDday*schooI  Union,  in  the  Clerk's  Office 
of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 

I.  Ashmead  &  Co.,  Printers. 


PREFACE 


It  is  one  of  the  clearest  principles  of  divine 
revelation,  that  holiness  is  the  fruit  of  truth ; 
and  it  is  one  of  the  plainest  inferences  from 
that  principle,  that  the  exhibition  of  the  truth 
is  the  best  means  of  promoting  holiness. 
Christians  regard  the  vv^ord  of  God  as  the 
only  infallible  teacher  of  those  truths  which 
relate  to  the  salvation  of  men.  But  are  the 
Scriptures  really  a  revelation  from  God  ?  If 
they  are,  what  doctrines  do  they  teach  ?  And 
what  influence  should  those  doctrines  exert 
on  our  heart  and  life  ? 

The  publishing  committee  of  the  American 
Sunday-school  Union  have  long  felt  the  want 
of  a  book  which  should  give  a  plain  answer 
to  these  questions,  and  be  suitable  to  place  in 
the  hands  of  intelligent  and  educated  young 

1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

persons,  either  to  arouse  their  attention,  or  to 
guide  their  steps  in  the  way  of  life. 

The  following  work  has  been  prepared  at 
the  request  of  the  committee,  with  the  hope 
that  it  may  in  some  measure  answer  the  pur- 
pose just  stated.  In  a  Christian  country  it 
might  seem  unnecessary  to  raise  the  question 
whether  the  Scriptures  are  the  word  of  God. 
But  those  who  have  had  much  intercourse 
with  young  men,  know  that  even  among  those 
who  have  been  religiously  educated,  there  is 
more  or  less  skepticism  upon  this  point ;  and 
where  there  is  no  absolute  skepticism,  there  is 
often  an  impression  that  the  evidence  of  the 
divine  origin  of  the  Bible  is  not  so  decisive  as 
it  might,  or  even  should  be.  Hence  it  is  that 
the  want  of  faith  is  seldom  felt  to  be  a  great 
sin.  It  was  therefore  deemed  important  that 
the  question.  Why  we  are  bound  to  believe 
the  Bible  to  be  the  word  of  God  ?  should  be 
distinctly,  though  briefly,  answered. 

The   still   more   comprehensive   question, 


PREFACE.  VU 

What  do  the  Scriptures  teach  ?  is  of  course 
here  considered  only  in  reference  to  those 
great  practical  doctrines  which  are  essential 
to  evangelical  religion,  viz. :  the  doctrines  of 
sin,  justification,  faith,  repentance,  and  holy 
living. 

With  regard  to  the  influence  vrhich  these 
doctrines  should  exert  upon  the  heart  and 
life,  or,  in  other  v^ords,  w^ith  regard  to  reli- 
gious experience,  reference  might  be  made  to 
the  numerous  records  of  the  exercises  of  the 
people  of  God,  or  to  what  we  see  daily  in  his 
church.  As,  however,  the  Scriptures  them- 
selves not  only  teach  us  what  the  truth  is, 
but  also  how  it  operates  upon  an  enlightened' 
conscience  and  believing  heart,  our  safest 
appeal  is  to  them.  It  is  there  that  we  can 
best  learn  how  we  ought  to  feel  and  act  in 
view  of  what  the  Bible  teaches  us  of  sin,  of 
justification,  faith,  and  repentance ;  since 
genuine  religious  experience  is  simply  the 
accordance  of  our  views  and  feelings  with 
the  truth  of  God. 


VIU  PREFACE. 

If  this  little  book  should  be  instrumental, 
by  the  simple  exhibition  of  the  truth,  of  point- 
ing out  the  WAY  OF  LIFE  to  those  who  are 
anxious  to  know  what  they  must  believe  and 
what  they  must  experience  in  order  to  be 
saved,  it  will  answer  the  design  of  its  prepa- 
ration and  publication. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    I, 

THE  SCRIPTURES  ARE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 

Page. 

Sec.  I. — The  internal  evidence  of  the  divine  origin  of  the 

Scriptures,  -  -  -  -         13 

Sec.  II. — The  internal  evidence  of  their  divine  origin  is 

the  proper  ground  of  faith  in  the  Scriptures,        28 

Sec.  III. — External  evidence  of  the  divine  origin  of  the 

Scriptures.     The  testimony  of  the  Church,  37 

Sec.  IV. — The  argument  from  prophecy,        -  -         43 

CHAPTER    II. 

SIN. 

Sec.  I. — All  men  are  sinners.     The  nature  of  man,  since 

the  fall,  is  depraved,        -  -  -         62 

Sec.  II. — The  sins  of  men  are  numerous  and  aggravated,     72 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER     III. 

CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE  TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN. 

Page. 

Sec.  I. — Sin,  want  of  consideration*  stfiying  against  the 

Spirit,   -  .  -  -  -         92 

Sec.  II. — Sophistical  objections  against  the  doctrine  of 

the  Bible,  -  -  .  -         98 

CH  APTE  R     IV. 

conviction  op  sin. 

Sec.  I. — Knowledge  of  sin.     Sense  of  personal  ill-desert,     121 
Sec.  II. — Insufficiency  of  our  own  righteousness  and  of 

our  own  strength,  -  -  -       140 

CHAPTER    V. 
justification. 

Sec.  I. — Importance  of  the  doctrine.  Explanation  of  the 
Scriptural  terms  relating  to  it.  Justification 
is  not  by  works,  -  -  -        1 53 

Sec.  II. — The  demands  of  the  law  are  satisfied  by  what 

Christ  has  done,  -  -  -        171 

Sec.  III. — The  righteousness  of  Christ  the  true  ground  of 
'  our  justification.     The  practical  effect  of  the 

doctrine,  -  -  -  -       197 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER     VI. 

FAITH. 

Page. 

Sec.  I. — Faith  necessary  in  order  to  salvation.     The  na- 
ture of  saving  faith,         -  -  -       214 
Sec.  II. — Faith,  as  connected  with  Justification,  -       232 

CHAPTER    VII. 
Repentance,  -  -  -  -  -245 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

Sec.  I. — The  nature  and  necessity  of  a  public  profession 

of  religion,         -  -  -  -       274 

Sec  II. — Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.     The  nature, 

design,  and  efficacy  of  these  ordinances,    -       285 

Sec.  III. — Obligation  to  attend  upon  the  sacraments. 
Qualifications  for  the  proper  discharge  of  the 
duty,     -  -  -  -  -       309 

CHAPTER     IX. 

HOLY  LIVING. 

Sec.  I. — The  nature  of  true  religion,  -  -       328 

Sec  II. — The  means  of  sanctification,  -  -       357 


THE   WAY   OF    LIFE 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  SCRIPTURES  ARE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 

Section  I.  The  internal  evidence  of  the  di- 
vine origin  of  the  Scriptures. 

It  often  happens  that  those  who  hear  the 
gospel,  doubt  whether  it  is  really  the  word  of 
God.  Having  been  taught  from  infancy  to 
regard  it  as  a  divine  revelation,  and  knowing 
no  sufficient  reason  for  rejecting  it,  they  yield 
a  general  assent  to  its  claims.  There  are 
times,  however,  when  they  would  gladly  be 
more  fully  assured  that  the  Bible  is  not  a  cun- 
ningly devised  fable.  They  think  if  that 
point  was  absolutely  certain,  they  would  at 
once  submit  to  all  the  gospel  requires. 

Such  doubts  do  not  arise  from  any  defi- 
ciency in  the  evidence  of  the  divine  authority 
of  the  Scriptures;  nor  would  they  be  re- 
2 


14  THE    SCRIPTURES, 

moved  by  any  increase  of  that  evidence. 
They  have  their  origin  in  the  state  of  the 
heart.  The  most  important  of  all  the  evi- 
dences of  Christianity,  can  never  be  properly 
appreciated  unless  the  heart  be  right  in  the 
sight  of  God.  The  same  exhibition  of  truth 
which  produces  unwavering  conviction  in  one 
mind,  leaves  another  in  a  state  of  doubt  or 
unbelief.  And  the  same  mind  often  passes 
rapidly,  though  rationally,  from  a  state  of 
skepticism  to  that  of  faith,  without  any 
change  in  the  mere  external  evidence  pre- 
sented to  it. 

No  amount  of  mere  external  evidence  can 
produce  genuine  faith.  The  Israelites,  who 
had  seen  a  long  succession  of  wonders  in  the 
land  of  Egypt ;  who  had  passed  through  the 
divided  waters  of  the  Red  Sea;  who  were 
daily  receiving  by  miracle  food  from  heaven ; 
who  had  trembled  at  the  manifestations  of  the 
divine  majesty  on  Mount  Sinai ;  within  sight 
of  that  mountain,  made  a  golden  calf  their 
God.  The  men,  who  saw  the  miracles  of 
Christ  performed  almost  daily  in  their  pre- 
sence, cried  out,  Crucify  him,  crucify  him. 
Hence  our  Saviour  said,  that  those  who  hear 
not  Moses  and  the  prophets  would  not  be  per- 
suaded though  one  rose  from  the  dead.     We 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  15 

may  confidently  conclude,  therefore,  that 
those  who  now  believe  not  the  gospel,  would 
not  be  persuaded  had  they  seen  all  the  mira- 
cles which  Christ  performed. 

It  is  important  that  the  attention  of  the 
doubting  should  be  directed  to  the  fact  that 
their  want  of  faith  is  to  be  attributed  to  their 
own  moral  state,  and  not  to  any  deficiency  in 
the  evidence  of  the  truth.  If  our  gospel  be 
hid,  says  the  apostle,  it  is  hid  to  them  that  are 
lost ;  in  whom  the  god  of  this  w^orld  hath 
blinded  the  minds  of  them  that  believe  not, 
lest  the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ, 
should  shine  unto  them. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  doctrine  here  stated, 
out  of  analogy  with  our  daily  experience. 
No  truth  can  be  properly  apprehended  un- 
less there  is  a  harmony  between  it  and  the 
mind  to  which  it  is  presented.  Even  abstract 
or  speculative  truths  are  not  seen  to  be  true, 
unless  the  understanding  be  duly  cultivated 
to  apprehend  them.  With  regard  to  objects 
of  taste,  unless  there  is  a  power  to  perceive 
the  correspondence  between  them  and  the 
standard  of  beauty,  there  can  be  no  apprecia- 
tion of  their  excellence.  And  still  more  ob- 
viously in  regard  to  moral  and  religious  truth, 
there  must  be  a  state  of  mind  suited  to  their 


16  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

apprehension.  If  our  moral  sense  were  en- 
tirely destroyed  by  sin,  we  could  have  no  per- 
ception of  moral  distinctions  ;  if  it  is  vitiated, 
what  is  true  in  itself  and  true  in  the  view  of 
the  pure  in  heart,  wall  not  be  true  to  us.  A 
#  man  who  has  no  adequate  sense  of  the  evil  of 
sin,  cannot  believe  in  the  justice  of  God.  If 
you  awaken  his  conscience,  he  is  convinced 
at  once,  without  the  intervention  of  any  pro- 
cess of  proof. 

No  one  can  fail  to  remark  that  the  Bible 
demands  immediate  and  implicit  faith  from 
all  who  read  it.  It  may  lie  neglected  in  the 
study  of  the  philosopher,  or  in  the  chest  of 
the  outcast  sailor ;  or  it  may  be  given  by  a 
missionary  yet  ignorant  of  the  language  of 
the  heathen  to  whom  he  ministers.  The  mo- 
ment, however,  it  is  opened,  in  these  or  any 
other  circumstances,  it  utters  the  same  calm 
voice.  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  ever- 
lasting life,  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall 
not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on 
him.  If  this  demand  was  confined  to  the 
educated,  we  might  suppose  it  to  rest  on  evi- 
dence which  the  educated  only  are  able  to 
appreciate ;  or  if  it  was  made  of  those  only 
to  whom  the  scriptures  are  presented  by  re- 
gularly commissioned  ministers,  we    might 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  17 

suppose  it  rested  on  their  authority ;  but  it  is 
not  thus  confined.  It  is  inseparable  from  the 
word  itself.  It  is  as  imperative  when  the 
Bible  is  read  by  a  child  to  a  company  of  pa- 
gans, as  when  it  is  proclaimed  in  a  cathedral. 
But  if  this  demand  of  faith  goes  with  the 
word  wherever  it  goes,  it  must  rest  upon  evi- 
dence contained  in  the  word  itself.  The  de- 
mand of  faith  cannot  be  more  extensive  than 
the  exhibition  of  evidence.  Unless,  therefore, 
we  restrict  the  obligation  and  the  benefits  of 
'faith  to  those  who  are  capable  of  appreciating 
the  external  evidence  of  the  Bible,  we  must 
admit  that  it  contains  its  own  evidence. 

To  make  the  testimony  of  others  to  the 
truth  of  Christianity,  the  ground  of  faith,  is* 
inadmissible  for  two  obvious  reasons.  In  the 
first  place,  as  already  intimated,  it  is  not  suf- 
ficiently extensive.  The  obligation  to  believe 
rests  on  multitudes  to  whom  that  testimony  is " 
not  addressed.  In  the  second  place,  it  is  en- 
tirely inadequate.  The  great  mass  of  men 
cannot  be  required  to  believe  on  the  testimony 
of  the  learned  few,  a  religion  which  is  to  con- 
trol their  conduct  in  this  world  and  to  decide 
their  destiny  in  the  next.  Besides,  learned 
men  testify  in  behalf  of  the  Koran  as  well  as 
in  favour  of  the  Bible.  That,  therefore,  can- 
2^ 


18  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

not  be  an  adequate  ground  of  faith,  which 
may  be  urged  in  support  of  error  as  well  as 
of  truth.  To  require  the  common  people  to 
be  able  to  see  why  the  testimony  of  learned 
Christians  may  safely  be  relied  upon,  while 
that  of  learned  Mussulmans  should  be  reject- 
ed, is  to  require  of  them  a  task  as  severe  as 
the  examination  of  the  historical  evidences  of 
Christianity.  There  is,  therefore,  no  way  of 
justifying  the  universal,  immediate  and  au- 
thoritative demand,  which  the  Bible  makes 
on  our  faith,  except  by  admitting  that  it  con- 
tains within  itself  the  proofs  of  its  divine 
origin. 

It  may  not  be  easy,  or  perhaps  possible,  to 
give  any  adequate  exhibition  of  the  nature  of 
this  proof  to  those  who  profess  not  to  see  it. 
Enough  however  may  be  said  to  show  that  it 
is  a  rational  and  adequate  ground  for  implicit 
confidence.  Every  work  bears  the  impress  of 
its  maker.  Even  among  men  it  is  hard  for 
one  man  successfully  to  counterfeit  the  work 
of  another.  Is  it  wonderful  then  that  the 
works  of  God  should  bear  the  inimitable  im- 
press of  their  author  ?  Do  not  the  heavens  de- 
clare his  glory  ?  Does  not  the  mechanism  of 
an  insect  as  clearly  evince  the  workmanship 
of  God  ?     Why  then  should  it  be  deemed  in- 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  1# 

credible  that  his  word  should  contain  inherent 
evidence  of  its  divine  origin  ?  If  the  Bible 
be  the  word  of  God,  it  must  contain  the  im- 
press of  his  character,  and  thereby  evince 
itself  to  be  divine. 

It  may  be  objected  that  we  are  not  compe- 
tent to  judge  of  this  evidence.  If  it  requires 
so  much  cultivation  of  the  intellect  to  judge 
of  the  excellence  of  human  productions,  and 
so  accurate  an  acquaintance  with  the  charac- 
ter of  their  authors,  in  order  to  decide  on  the 
genuineness  of  such  productions,  who  can 
pretend  to  a  knowledge  of  God  which  shall 
enable  him  to  judge  what  is,  or  what  is  not 
worthy  of  his  hand  ?  This  would  be  a  fatal 
objection  if  the  internal  evidence  of  the  scrip- 
tures consisted  in  their  intellectual  excellence. 
It  loses  its  force  however  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  this  excellence  is,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, moral,  and  that  goodness  carries  with  it 
its  own  evidence.  To  appreciate  evidence  of 
this  kind  requires  no  great  degree  of  know- 
ledge, or  refinement.  It  requires  merely  right 
moral  feelings.  Where  these  exist,  the  evi- 
dence that  goodness  is  goodness  is  immediate 
and  irresistible.  It  is  not  because  the  Bible 
is  written  with  more  than  human  skill,  and 
that  its  discrimination  of  character  or  its  elo- 


20  THE    SCRIPTURES, 

quence  is  beyond  the  powers  of  man,  that  we 
believe  it  to  be  divine.  These  are  matters  of 
which  the  mass  of  men  are  incompetent 
judges.  The  evidence  in  question  is  suited 
to  the  apprehension  of  the  humblest  child  of 
God.  It  is  partly  negative  and  partly  posi- 
tive. It  consists,  in  the  first  place,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  every  thing  incompatible  with  a  di- 
vine origin.  There  is  nothing  inconsistent 
with  reason,  and  there  is  nothing  inconsistent 
with  goodness.  Did  the  scriptures  contain 
any  thing  contrary  to  reason,  or  to  right  moral 
feeling,  belief  in  its  divine  origin  would  be 
impossible.  Such  a  belief  would  involve  the 
ascription  of  folly,  or  sin  to  its  author.  There 
is  more  in  this  negative  evidence  than  we  are 
apt  to  imagine.  It  cannot  be  urged  in  behalf 
of  any  other  book  but  the  Bible,  claiming  a 
divine  origin.  An  impassable  gulf  is  thus 
placed  between  the  scriptures  and  all  apocry- 
phal writings.  The  claims  of  the  latter  are 
in  every  instance  disproved  by  the  fact  that 
they  contain  statements  which  cannot  be  true. 
It  is  however  the  positive  internal  evidence 
of  a  divine  origin,  which  gives  power  and  au- 
thority to  the  claims  of  the  Bible.  This  evi- 
dence consists  mainly  in  its  perfect  holiness, 
in  the  correspondence  between  all  its  state- 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  21 

ments  respecting  God,  man,  redemption,  and 
a  future  state,  and  all  our  own  right  judg- 
ments, reasonable  apprehensions  and  personal 
experience.  When  the  mind  is  enlightened 
to  see  this  holiness ;  when  it  perceives  how 
exactly  the  rule  of  duty  prescibed  in  the  word 
of  God  agrees  with  that  enforced  by  con- 
science ;  how  the  account  which  it  gives  of 
human  nature  coincides  with  human  expe- 
perience  ;  how  fully  it  meets  our  whole  case ; 
when  it  feels  how  powerfully  the  truths  there 
presented  operate  to  purify,  console  and  sus- 
tain the  soul,  the  belief  of  the  scriptures  is  a 
necessary  consequence.  The  idea  that  such 
a  book  is  a  lie  and  a  forgery  involves  a  con- 
tradiction. The  human  mind  is  so  consti- 
tuted that  it  cannot  refuse  its  assent  to  evi- 
dence, when  clearly  perceived.  We  cannot 
withhold  our  confidence  from  a  man  whose 
moral  excellence  is  plainly,  variously  and  con- 
stantly manifested.  We  cannot  see  and  feel 
his  goodness,  and  yet  believe  him  to  be  an 
impostor  or  deceiver.  In  like  manner,  we 
cannot  see  the  excellence  of  the  scriptures, 
and  yet  believe  them  to  be  one  enormous 
falsehood.  The  Bible  claims  to  be  the  word 
of  God ;  it  speaks  in  his  name,  it  assumes  his 
authority.     How  can  these  claims  be  false  and 


22  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

yet  the  Bible  be  so  holy  ?  How  can  falsehood 
be  an  element  of  perfect  excellence?  The 
only  possible  way  of  shaking  our  confidence 
in  the  competent  testimony  of  a  man,  is  to 
show  that  he  is  not  a  good  man.  If  his  good- 
ness is  admitted,  confidence  in  his  word  can- 
not be  withheld,  and  especially  when  all  he 
says  finds  its  confirmation  in  our  own  expe- 
rience, and  commends  itself  to  our  conscience 
and  judgment.  Thus  also  it  is  impossible 
that  we  should  discern  the  excellence  of  the 
scriptures  and  feel  their  correspondence  with 
our  experience  and  necessities,  and  yet  sup- 
pose them  to  be  untrue. 

When  the  woman  of  Samaria  reported  to 
her  townsmen  that  Jesus  had  told  her  all 
that  ever  she  did,  many  of  them  believed. 
But  after  they  had  themselves  listened  to  his 
instructions,  they  said  to  the  woman,  Now 
we  believe,  not  because  of  thy  saying,  for  we 
have  heard  him  ourselves,  and  know  that 
this  is  indeed  the  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world.  ^  No  Christian  can  be  surprised  at 
this  declaration,  or  think  the  faith  in  Christ 
founded  upon  what  he  said,  either  irrational, 
or  enthusiastic.  We  can  well  believe  that 
there  was  such  an  ineffable  manifestation  of 

*  John  iv.  42. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  23 

goodness  in  the  Redeemer's  conntenance, 
manner  and  doctrines,  as  to  conciliate  entire 
confidence.  Those  who  were  rightly  affect- 
ed conld  not  fail  to  believe  all  he  said ;  that 
he  was  the  Christ,  that  he  came  to  seek  and 
save  them  that  are  lost,  to  lay  down  his  life 
for  his  sheep  and  to  give  himself  a  ransom 
for  many.  Can  we  doubt  that  the  goodness 
of  the  Saviour,  the  elevation,  holiness  and 
power  of  his  instructions,  their  correspon- 
dence with  our  own  nature,  experience  and 
wants,  would  of  themselves  constitute  an  ade- 
quate ground  of  faith?  All  this  we  have. 
This  every  man  has,  who  reads  the  Bible. 
There  the  Saviour  stands  in  the  majesty  of 
unapproachable  excellence.  He  utters  in 
every  hearing  ear  the  words  of  eternal  life ; 
declares  his  origin,  his  mission,  the  design  of 
his  advent  and  death ;  offers  pardon  and  eter- 
nal life  to  those  who  come  unto  God  through 
him.  There  is  the  most  perfect  accordance 
between  his  claims  and  his  conduct ;  between 
his  doctrines  and  what  we  know  and  what 
we  need.  To  disbelieve  him,  is  to  believe 
him  to  be  a  deceiver,  and  to  believe  this,  is 
to  disbelieve  our  own  perceptions;  for  we 
know  what  goodness  is,  and  we  know  that 
goodness  cannot  deceive,  that  God  cannot  lie. 


24  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

It  makes  very  little  difference  as  to  the 
force  of  this  kind  of  evidence,  whether  we 
personally  saw  and  heard  the  Saviour  for  our- 
selves, or  whether  we  read  the  exhibition  of 
his  character  and  the  record  of  his  instruc- 
tions. For  the  evidence  lies  in  his  goodness 
and  in  the  nature  of  his  doctrines.  It  is  the 
same  to  us  who  read  the  Bible,  as  it  was  to 
those  that  heard  the  Saviour.  There  is 
therefore  the  same  violence  done  to  reason 
and  duty,  in  our  rejecting  it,  as  was  offered 
by  those  who  believed  not  because  they  were 
not  of  his  sheep,  that  is,  because  they  were 
insensible  to  the  constraining  influence  of  the 
grace  and  truth  which  were  in  Him.  Does 
then  any  one  ask,  how  we  know  that  the 
Bible  is  not  a  forgery?  Let  him  consider 
what  such  an  assumption  involves.  It  sup- 
poses either  that  the  authors  of  the  Bible 
were  fools,  which  we  can  no  more  believe 
than  that  Newton  was  an  idiot ;  or  that  they 
were  wicked,  which  no  man  can  believe  who 
knows  what  goodness  is.  Wherever,  there- 
fore, the  Bible  goes,  it  carries  with  it  evi- 
dence, that  is  irresistible,  (when  attended  to 
and  appreciated,)  that  its  authors  were  neither 
dupes  nor  deceivers. 

It  may  be  asked.  If  the  Bible  contains  such 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  25 

clear  evidence  of  its  divine  origin,  whj  are 
there  so  many  unbelievers  ?  To  this  it  may 
be  answered,  that  there  are  two  things  neces- 
sary in  order  that  evidence  should  produce 
conviction.  The  first  is  that  it  should  be  at- 
tended to ;  otherwise  it  might  as  well  not 
exist.  Of  the  many  millions  of  people  in 
Christendom,  comparatively  few  give  the 
Scriptures  any  serious  attention.  That  such 
persons  should  have  no  effective  faith,  is  no 
more  a  matter  of  surprise  than  that  they 
should  be  ignorant  of  what  they  never  learn- 
ed. The  second  requisite  for  the  reception 
of  evidence,  is  that  it  should  be  understood,  or 
really  apprehended.  If  this  evidence  is  ad- 
dressed to  the  understanding,  there  must  be 
strength  of  mind  enough  to  comprehend  its 
nature  and  bearing ;  if  addressed  to  the  moral 
faculty,  there  must  be  moral  sensibility  to 
appreciate  it,  or  it  will  be  like  light  shining 
on  the  eyes  of  the  blind.  The  internal  evi- 
dence of  the  Scriptures  is  in  a  great  measure 
of  this  latter  kind.  It  consists  in  their  per- 
fect holiness.  In  proportion  as  men  are  cor- 
rupt, they  are  blind  to  this  kind  of  evidence. 
It  may  exist  in  all  its  force,  and  men  be  in- 
sensible to  it.  Another  part  of  this  evidence 
consists  in  the  accordance  between  the  scrip- 
3 


26  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

tures  and  the  religious  experience  of  men. 
Those  who  have  not  the  experience,  cannot 
see  this  accordance.  Still  another  portion  of 
the  evidence  is  made  available  by  the  power 
of  God  in  subduing  sin,  in  purifying  the  af- 
fections, in  diffusing  peace  and  joy  through 
the  heart.  Those  who  have  never  felt  this 
power  cannot  appreciate  this  kind  of  proof. 
The  fact,  therefore,  that  so  large  a  proportion 
of  mankind  have  no  adequate  faith  in  the 
Scriptures,  affords  no  presumption  against 
the  existence  of  sufficient  evidence.  This 
fact  is  in  exact  accordance  with  what  the 
Bible  teaches  of  the  moral  state  of  man. 

Another  objection  to  the  view  of  the  ground 
of  faith  given  above,  is  that  it  leads  to  enthu- 
siasm, and  breaks  down  the  distinction  be- 
tween true  and  false  religion.  Every  enthu- 
siast, it  is  said,  thinks  he  sees  wonderful  ex- 
cellence in  the  pretended  revelations  which 
he  embraces.  It  is  a  sufficient  answer  to  this 
objection  to  ask,  whether  the  scholar  has  less 
faith  in  the  excellence  of  the  great  standards 
of  poetry,  because  the  writers  of  doggerel 
rhymes  have  had  their  admirers  ?  That  the 
sensual,  selfish  and  cruel  character  of  Mo- 
hammed appears  good  in  the  eyes  of  a  Turk, 
does  not  prove  him  to  be  an  enthusiast  who 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  27 

bows  with  reverence  before  the  supreme  ex- 
cellence of  Jesus  Christ.  That  the  pagan 
world  saw  evidence  of  the  existence  of  their 
gods  in  the  heavens  and  in  the  course  of  na- 
ture, does  not  make  him  an  enthusiast,  who 
recognises  in  the  works  of  God  the  manifes- 
tations of  infinite  power,  wisdom  and  good- 
ness. It  is  most  unreasonable  to  assume  that 
we  must  not  feel  the  force  of  truth  and  excel- 
lence, because  others  have  ascribed  these  at- 
tributes to  error  and  vice.  It  is  not  accord- 
ing to  the  constitution  of  our  nature  that  one 
man  should  cease  to  know  a  thing  to  be  true 
or  good,  because  others  do  not  see  it.  The 
evidence  is  complete  for  him,  though  all  the 
world  reject  it. 

If  it  is  asked,  where  the  standard  is ;  what 
criterion  of  excellence  exists  by  which  I  am 
authorized  to  decide  that  what  I  call  goodness 
is  really  such ;  the  rule  is  given  in  the  nature 
of  man.  We  know  that  benevolence  is  better 
than  malice,  veracity  than  deceit,  humility 
than  pride,  and  by  the  same  rule  we  know 
that  Christianity  is  better  than  Hindooism, 
and  ^he  blessed  Redeemer  than  the  Arabian 
impostor.  No  judgment  can  be  more  sure 
than  this,  no  persuasion  more  intimate,  no 
confidence  either  more  firm,  or  more  rational. 


28  THE  .SCRIPTURES, 

It  is,  therefore,  no  objection  against  admitting 
the  excellence  of  the  Scriptures  to  be  a  proof 
of  their  divine  origin,  that  besotted  or  deluded 
men  have  ascribed  excellence  to  folly  and 
wickedness. 


Section  II.  The  internal  evidence  of  their 
divine  origin  is  proper  ground  of  faith  in  the 
Scriptures. 

The  Scriptures  themselves  clearly  teach 
that  the  faith  which  they  demand  is  founded 
upon  the  authority  of  God,  manifesting  itself 
in  them  by  the  excellence  and  power  of  the 
truth  which  they  contain.  They  everywhere 
represent  faith  as  the  effect  and  evidence  of 
right  moral  feeling,  and  unbelief  as  the  result 
of  moral  or  spiritual  blindness.  Our  Saviour 
said  to  the  Jews,  If  any  man  will  do  his  will, 
he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine  whether  it  be  of 
God.^  Again,  He  that  is  of  God,  heareth 
God's  words ;  ye  therefore  hear  them  not  be- 
cause ye  are  not  of  God.f  On  another  occa- 
sion he  said.  Ye  believe  not,  because  ye  are 
not  of  my  sheep ;  my  sheep  hear  my  voice.  J 
The  apostle  speaks  to  the  same  effect.  Hereby 
know  ye  the  Spirit  of  God.     Every  spirit 

*  John  vii.  17.  t  John  viii.  47.  \  John  x.  26,  27. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  29 

that  confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in 
the  flesh,  is  of  God,  We  are  of  God.  He 
that  knoweth  God  heareth  us ;  he  that  is  not 
of  God  heareth  not  us.  Hereby  know  we  the 
spirit  of  truth  and  the  spirit  of  error.*  In 
like  manner  Paul  says,  The  natural  man  re- 
ceiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God ; 
for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him,  neither  can 
he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually 
discerned,  t  And  again.  If  our  gospel  be  hid, 
it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost ;  in  whom  the 
god  of  this  world  hath  blinded  the  eyes  of 
them  that  believe  not,  lest  the  light  of  the 
glorious  gospel  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of 
God,  should  shine  unto  them.  For  God, 
who  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of 
darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts,  to  give 
the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  J  The  doc- 
trine taught  in  these  and  similar  passages,  is 
that  there  is  in  the  word  of  God,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  person  and  character  of  Jesus 
Christ,  a  clear  and  wonderful  manifestation 
of  the  divine  glory.  To  this  manifestation 
the  natural  man  is  blind,  and  therefore  does 
not  believe,  but  those  who  have  the  Spirit  of 
God  discern  this  glory  and  therefore  believe. 

*  1  John  iv.  2,  3,  6.     f  1  Cor.  ii.  14.     t  2  Cor.  iv.  3—6. 
3* 


30  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

.  It  is  in  accordance  with  this  view  that  un- 
belief is  represented  as  so  grave  a  moral 
offence,  and  faith  as  so  important  a  duty. 
Atheism  is  every  where  regarded  as  a  crime, 
because  the  evidences  of  the  existence  of  God 
are  everywhere  present ;  above  us,  around  us 
and  within  us.  They  are  addressed  to  the 
moral  constitution,  as  well  as  to  the  specula- 
tive understanding.  They  cannot  be  resisted 
without  the  same  violence  to  moral  obliga- 
tions, or  the  authority  of  moral  considera- 
tions, that  is  involved  in  calling  virtue  vice, 
and  vice  virtue.  Hence  the  Scriptures 
always  speak  of  unbelief  as  a  sin  against 
God,  and  the  special  ground  of  the  condem- 
nation of  the  world.  He  that  believeth  on 
him  is  not  condemned,  but  he  that  believeth 
not  is  condemned  already,  because  he  hath 
not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  God.*  Who  is  a  liar,  but  he  that 
denieth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  ?  He  is  anti- 
Christ,  that  denieth  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
Whosoever  denieth  the  Son,  the  same  hath 
not  the  Father.t  Disbelief  of  the  Son  as  re- 
vealed in  the  Scriptures,  is  an  offence  of  the 
same  nature  as  the  denial  of  God.  In  both 
cases  supreme  excellence  is  revealed  and  dis- 

♦Johniii.  18.  t  1  John  ii.  22,  23. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  31 

regarded.  Much  to  the  same  effect  the  Sa- 
viour says,  He  that  hateth  me,  hateth  my 
Father  also.*  On  the  other  hand,  faith  is 
represented  as  the  highest  act  of  obedience, 
as  a  moral  act  of  the  greatest  worth  in  the 
sight  of  God.  Whosoever  belie veth  that  Jesus 
4s  the  Christ,  is  born  of  God.f  As  many  as 
received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  be- 
come the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that 
believe  on  his  name.  J  And  our  Saviour 
told  the  inquiring  Jews,  This  is  the  work 
of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  him  whom  he  hath 
sent.  5  These  representations  cannot  be  re- 
conciled with  the  assumption  that  faith  is 
founded  on  external  testimony,  which  does 
not  address  itself  to  our  moral  nature,  and  an 
assent  to  which  has  so  little  concern  with 
moral  character.  All  is  plain,  however,  if 
we  are  required  to  believe  in  the  Son  be- 
cause his  glory,  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father,  is  presented  to  us ;  and  to  receive  the 
Scriptures  because  they  bear  the  impress  of 
the  divine  perfections.  If  this  be  the  ground 
of  faith,  unbelief  is  indeed  a  crime.  It  is  a 
refusal  to  recognise  wisdom  and  holiness,  and 

*  John  XV.  23.  t  1  John  v.  1. 

X  John  i.  12.  5  John  vi.  29. 


32  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

to  acknowledge  the  manifested  excellence  of 
God. 

This  view  of  the  ground  of  faith  is  con- 
firmed by  the  effects  ascribed  to  that  grace. 
It  works  by  love,  it  purifies  the  heart,  it  over- 
comes the  world,  it  produces  peace  and  joy. 
It  is  indeed  conceivable  that  the  conviction 
of  truths  affecting  our  interests,  however  pro- 
duced, should  call  forth  fear,  sorrow,  or  joy 
according  to  their  nature.  But  it  is  not  con- 
ceivable that  belief  of  moral,  or  religious 
truths,  founded  upon  the  testimony  of  others, 
should  control  our  affections.  A  man  may 
believe  on  authority,  or  on  merely  rational 
grounds,  that  we  are  under  a  moral  govern- 
ment, and  that  the  law  by  which  we  are 
bound  is  holy,  just  and  good,  but  such  a  faith 
will  not  subdue  his  opposition.  He  may  be, 
by  argument  or  miracle,  convinced  of  the  ex- 
istence of  God,  but  such  a  faith  will  not  pro- 
duce love.  Faith  therefore  cannot  have  the 
effects  ascribed  to  it,  unless  it  is  founded  on  a 
spiritual  apprehension  of  the  truths  believed. 

Hence  it  is  that  faith  is  represented  as  the 
gift  of  God.  The  evidence  indeed  is  present- 
ed to  all,  or  there  would  be  no  obligation  to 
believe;  but  men  are  morally  blind,  and 
therefore   the    eyes   of    their   understanding 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  33 

must  be  opened  that  they  may  understand 
the  things  which  are  freely  given  to  them  of 
God.  The  apostle  therefore  says  to  his  be- 
lieving brethren,  Ye  have  an  unction  from 
the  Holy  One,  and  ye  know  all  things.  I 
have  not  written  unto  you,  because  ye  know 
not  the  truth,  but  because  ye  know  it,  and 
that  no  lie  is  of  the  truth.  The  anointing 
which  ye  have  received  of  him  abideth  in 
you,  and  ye  need  not  that  any  man  teach 
you :  but  as  the  same  anointing  teacheth  you 
of  all  things,  and  is  truth,  and  is  no  lie,  and 
even  as  it  hath  taught  you,  ye  shall  abide  in 
him.^  It  is  here  taught,  as  in  other  passages 
already  quoted,  that  believers  are  the  reci- 
pients of  an  influence,  an  unction,  from  the 
Holy  One,  which  convinces  them  of  the 
truth,  and  makes  them  see  and  know  that  it 
is  truth.  Hence  Paul  says,  his  preaching 
was  not  with  the  enticing  words  of  man's 
wisdom,  but  in  the  demonstration  of  the 
Spirit  and  of  power;  that  the  faith  of  his 
hearers  might  not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of 
men,  but  in  the  power  of  God ;  that  is,  that 
their  faith  might  not  be  the  eflfect  of  skilful 
reasoning,  but  of  the  spiritual  perception  and 
experience  of  the  truth. 

*  1  Johnii.  20,21,27. 


34  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

All  this  is  confirmed  by  the  constant  prac- 
tice of  the  inspired  teachers.  Though  they 
appealed  to  all  kinds  of  evidence  in  support 
of  the  doctrines  which  they  taught,  to  signs 
and  wonders,  and  divers  miracles  and  gifts  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  yet  they  by  no  means  rested 
the  obligation  to  believe  either  exclusively  or 
mainly  upon  these  external  signs.  In  many 
cases  faith  was  demanded  by  those  inspired 
men  who  never  wrought  miracles  of  any 
kind,  as  was  the  fact  in  the  case  of  some  of 
the  prophets;  and  still  more  frequently  it 
was  required  of  those  among  whom  no  such 
wonders  had  been  performed.  When  the 
Jews  demanded  a  sign  and  the  Greeks  wis- 
dom, the  apostles  preached  Christ,  and  him 
crucified,  as  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation.  Their  con- 
stant endeavour  was  by  the  manifestation  of 
the  truth  to  commend  themselves  to  every 
man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God.  And 
if  their  gospel  was  hid,  it  was  hid  to  them 
that  are  lost. 

It  is,  therefore,  plainly  the  doctrine  of  the 
Scriptures  themselves,  that  the  word  of  God 
is  to  be  believed  because  of  the  authority  or 
command  of  God  manifesting  itself  therein, 
in  a  manner  analogous  to  the  exhibition  of 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  35 

his  perfections  in  the  works  of  nature.  If,  as 
Paul  teaches  us,  the  eternal  power  and  god- 
head are  so  clearly  manifested  by  the  things 
that  are  made,  that  even  the  heathen  are 
without  excuse ;  and  if  their  unbelief  is  as- 
cribed not  to  the  w^ant  of  evidence,  but  to 
their  not  liking  to  retain  God  in  their  know- 
ledge ;  we  need  not  wonder  that  the  far  clear- 
er manifestation  of  the  divine  perfections 
made  in  the  Scripture,  should  be  the  ground 
of  a  more  imperative  command  to  believe. 

It  is  the  experience  of  true  Christians  in  all 
ages  and  nations  that  their  faith  is  founded 
on  the  spiritual  apprehension  and  experience 
of  the  power  of  the  truth.  There  are  multi- 
tudes of  such  Christians,  who,  if  asked  why 
they  believe  the  Scriptures  to  be  the  word  of 
God,  might  find  it  difficult  to  give  an  answer, 
whose  faith  is  nevertheless  both  strong  and 
rational.  They  are  conscious  of  its  grounds 
though  they  may  not  be  able  to  state  them. 
They  have  the  witness  in  themselves,  and 
know  that  they  believe,  not  because  others 
believe,  or  because  learned  men  have  proved 
certain  facts  which  establish  the  truth  of 
Christianity.  They  believe  in  Christ  for  the 
same  reason  that  they  believe  in  God;  and 
they  believe  in  God  because  they  see  his 
glory  and  feel  his  authority  and  power. 


36  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

If  then  the  truth  of  God  contains  in  its 
own  nature  a  revelation  of  divine  excellence, 
the  sin  of  unbelief  is  a  very  great  sin.  Not 
to  have  faith  in  God,  when  clearly  revealed, 
is  the  highest  offence  which  a  creature  can 
commit  against  its  creator.  To  refuse  cre- 
dence to  the  testimony  of  God,  when  convey- 
ed in  the  manner  best  adapted  to  our  nature, 
is  to  renounce  our  allegiance  to  our  creator. 
To  disregard  the  evidence  of  truth  and  excel- 
lence in  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  highest  indig- 
nity that  we  can  show  to  truth  and  excel- 
lence. This  sin  is  common,  and  therefore  is 
commonly  disregarded.  Men  do  not  easily 
see  the  turpitude  of  evils  with  which  they 
are  themselves  chargeable.  The  faults  of 
those  who  go  beyond  them  in  iniquity  they 
are  quick  to  discern.  And  therefore  the  man 
who  feels  no  compunction  at  w^ant  of  faith  in 
the  Son  of  God,  will  abhor  him  who  pro- 
nounces the  Redeemer  a  wicked  impostor. 
He  will  wait  for  no  explanation  and  will  lis- 
ten to  no  excuse.  The  mere  fact  that  a  man, 
acquainted  with  the  Scriptures,  is  capable  of 
such  a  judgment  respecting  the  Son  of  God, 
is  proof  of  depravity  which  nothing  can  gain- 
say. Yet  how  little  difference  is  there  be- 
tween the  state  of  mind  which  would  admit 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  37 

of  such  a  judgment,  and  the  state  in  which 
those  are  who  have  no  faith  in  the  declara- 
tions of  Christ ;  who  disregard  his  promises 
and  warnings;  who  do  not  feel  them  to  be 
true,  and  therefore  treat  them  as  fables.  The 
want  of  faith  therefore  of  which  men  think  so 
lightly,  will  be  found  the  most  unreasonable 
and  perhaps  the  most  aggravated  of  all  their 
sins.  It  implies  an  insensibility  to  the  high- 
est kind  of  evidence,  and  involves  the  rejec- 
tion of  the  greatest  gift  which  God  has  ever 
offered  to  man,  pardon,  holiness,  and  eternal 
life. 

Section  III.  External  evidence  of  the  di- 
vine origin  of  the  Scriptures.  The  testimony 
of  the  Church, 

As  God  hath  left  the  heathen  to  the  unau- 
thenticated  revelation  of  himself  in  his  worksy/^ 
and  holds  them  responsible  for  their  unbelief, 
so  he  might  have  left  us  to  the  simple  revela- 
tion of  himself  in  his  word.  He  has  been 
pleased,  however,  to  confirm  that  word  by  ex- 
ternal proofs  of  the  most  convincing  charac- 
ter, so  that  we  are  entirely  without  excuse. 

The  testimony  of  the  church  is  of  itself  an 
unanswerable  argument  for  the  truth  of  Chris- 
4 


38 

tianity.  The  validity  of  this  testimony  does 
not  depend  upon  the  assumed  infallibility  of 
any  class  of  men.  It  is  merely  the  testimony 
of  an  innumerable  body,  of  witnesses,  under 
circumstances  which  preclude  the  idea  of  de- 
lusion or  deception.  For  the  sake  of  illustra- 
tion take  any  particular  branch  of  Christ's 
church,  as  for  example  the  Lutheran.  It 
now  exists  in  Europe  and  America.  It  every 
where  possesses  the  same  version  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  same  confession  of  faith. 
Its  testimony  is,  that  it  owes  its  existence,  as 
an  organized  body,  to  Luther ;  to  whom  it  as- 
cribes the  translation  of  the  Bible,  and  under 
whose  auspices  it  professes  to  have  received 
the  Augsburg  Confession.  It  is  clearly  im- 
possible that  these  documents  could,  during 
the  present  century,  have  been  palmed  upon 
these  scattered  millions  of  men.  They  all 
bear  testimony  that  they  received  them  as  they 
now  are  from  the  hands  of  their  fathers.  As 
to  this  point,  neither  delusion  nor  deception 
is  conceivable.  In  the  eighteenth  century  we 
find  this  church  scarcely  less  numerous  than 
it  is  at  present.  It  bore  the  same  testimony 
then  that  it  does  now.  With  one  voice  it  de- 
clared that  their  fathers  possessed  before  them 
the  standards  of  their  faith.     This  testimony 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  39 

is  repeated  again  in  the  seventeenth,  and  again 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  till  we  come  to  the 
age  of  Luther.  This  testimony,  conclusive 
in  itself,  is  confirmed  by  all  kinds  of  collate- 
ral evidence.  Every  thing  in  the  style,  doc- 
trines and  historical  references  of  the  stand- 
ards of  the  Lutheran  church,  agrees  v^ith  the 
age  to  which  they  are  referred.  The  influ- 
ence of  a  society  holding  those  doctrines  is 
traceable  through  the  whole  of  the  interven- 
ing period.  The  wars,  the  treaties,  the  lite- 
rary and  religious  institutions  of  the  period, 
to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  received  their  cha- 
racter from  that  Society.  Much  therefore  as 
men  may  differ  as  to  Luther's  character,  as  to 
the  wisdom  of  his  conduct  or  the  truth  of  his 
doctrines,  no  sane  man  has  ever  questioned 
the  fact  that  he  lived,  that  he  translated  the 
Scriptures,  that  he  organized  a  new  church, 
and  gave  his  followers  the  Augsburg  confes- 
sion. 

The  same  series  of  remarks  might  be  made 
in  reference  to  the  church  of  England.  That 
extended  and  powerful  body  has  her  thirty- 
nine  articles,  her  liturgy,  and  her  homilies, 
which  she  testifies  she  received  from  the  Re- 
formers. This  testimony  cannot  be  doubted. 
At  no  period  of  her  history  could  that  church 


40  THE    SCRIPTURES, 

either  deceive  or  have  been  deceived,  as  to 
that  point.  Her  testimony  moreover  is  con- 
firmed by  all  collateral  circumstances.  The 
liturgy,  articles  and  homilies  are  in  every  re- 
spect consistent  with  their  reputed  origin ; 
and  the  whole  history  of  England  during  that 
period  is  interwoven  with  the  history  of  that 
church.  The  consequence  is,  no  man  doubts 
that  the  English  reformers  lived,  or  that  they 
framed  the  standards  of  doctrine  and  worship 
universally  ascribed  to  them. 

This  argument  when  applied  to  the  whole 
Christian  church  is  no  less  conclusive.  This 
church  now  exists  in  every  quarter  of  the 
globe,  and  embraces  many  millions  of  disci- 
ples. Every  where  it  has  the  same  records 
of  its  faith ;  it  is  every  where  an  organized 
society  with  religious  officers  and  ordinances. 
It  every  where  testifies  that  these  records  and 
institutions  were  received  from  Christ  and  his 
apostles.  That  this  vast  society  did  not  be- 
gin to  exist  during  the  present  century,  is  as 
evident  as  that  the  world  was  not  just  made. 
It  is  no  less  plain  that  it  did  not  begin  to  ex- 
ist in  the  eighteenth,  the  seventeenth,  the  six- 
teenth, nor  in  any  other  century  subsequent 
to  the  first  in  our  era.  In  each  succeeding 
century,  we  find  millions  of  men,  thousands 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  41 

of  churches  and  ministers  uniting  their  testi- 
mony to  the  fact  that  they  received  their  sa- 
cred writings  and  institutions  from  their  pre- 
decessors, until  we  come  to  the  age  of  Christ 
himself.     Did  the  origin  of  the  church  run 
back  beyond  the  limits  of  authentic  history, 
so  as   to  leave  a  gap   between  its   reputed 
founder   and  its   ascertained  existence,   this 
argument  would  fail ;  an  essential  link  would 
be  wanting,  and  the  whole  extended  chain 
would  fall  to  the  ground.     But  as  this  is  not 
the  case,  its  testimony  touching  the  histori- 
cal facts  of  its  origin,  is  as  irresistible  as  that 
of  the  church  of  England  respecting  the  ori- 
gin of  its  articles  and  liturgy.     The  Chris- 
tian church  is  traced  up  to  the  time  of  Christ 
by  a  mass  of  evidence  which  cannot  be  re- 
sisted ;  so  that  to  deny  that  Christ  lived,  and 
that  the  church  received  from  his  followers 
the  sacred  writings,  is  not  merely  to  reject  the 
testimony  of    thousands   of  competent   wit- 
nesses, but  to  deny  facts  which  are  essential 
to  account  for  the  subsequent  history  and  the 
existing  state  of  the  world.     A  man  might  as 
well  profess  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  the 
foliage  of  a  tree,  but  not  in  that  of  its  branches 
and  stem. 

This  testimony  of  the  church  as  to  the 
4* 


42  THE    SCRIPTURES, 

facts  on  which  Christianity  is  founded,  is  con- 
firmed by  all  kinds  of  collateral  evidence. 
The  language  in  which  the  New  Testament 
is  written  is  precisely  that  which  belonged  to 
the  time  and  place  of  its  origin.  It  is  the 
language  of  Jews  speaking  Greek,  and  in  its 
peculiarities  belonged  to  no  other  age  or  peo- 
ple. All  the  historical  allusions  are  consistent 
with  the  known  state  of  the  world  at  that 
time.  The  history  of  the  world  since  the 
advent  of  Christ  pre-supposes  the  facts  re- 
corded in  the  New  Testament.  It  is  beyond 
a  doubt  that  the  religion  taught  by  a  few  poor 
men  in  Judea,  has  changed  the  state  of  a  large 
part  of  the  world.  Paganism  has  disappear- 
ed ;  a  new  religion  been  introduced ;  laws, 
customs,  institutions  and  manners  become 
prevalent,  and  they  all  rest  upon  facts  to 
which  the  church  bears  her  testimony. 

Beyond  all  this,  the  internal  character  of 
the  Scriptures  is  worthy  of  the  origin  ascribed 
to  them;  a  character  which  gives  the  only 
adequate  solution  of  the  revolution  which  they 
have  effected.  When  God  said.  Let  there  be 
light,  there  was  light.  And  when  Jesus 
Christ  said,  I  am  the  light  of  the  world,  the 
light  shone.  We  cannot  doubt  that  it  is 
light;  neither  can  we  doubt  when  it  arose, 
for  all  before  was  darkness. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  43 

This  testimony  of  the  church,  thus  con- 
firmed by  all  internal  and  external  proofs,  es- 
tablishes the  fact  that  Christ  lived  and  died, 
that  he  founded  the  Christian  church,  and 
that  the  New  Testament  was  received  from 
his  immediate  followers.  But  these  facts  in- 
volve the  truth  of  the  gospel  as  a  revelation 
from  God,  unless  we  suppose  that  Christ  and 
his  apostles  were  deceivers.  The  evidence 
against  this  latter  assumption  is  as  strong  as 
the  evidence  of  the  existence  of  the  sun. 
The  blind,  if  they  please,  may  deny  that  the 
sun  exists,  and  none  but  the  morally  blind  can 
resist  the  evidence  which  the  New  Testa- 
ment affords  of  the  moral  excellence  and  in- 
tellectual sobriety  of  the  sacred  writers.  If 
they  were  trustworthy  men,  men  who  we  are 
to  believe  spoke  the  truth,  then  they  actually 
possessed  and  exercised  the  miraculous  powers 
to  which  they  laid  claim.  To  these  powers 
Christ  and  his  apostles  appealed  as  an  unan- 
swerable proof  of  their  divine  mission;  and 
we  cannot  reject  their  testimony  without  de- 
nying their  integrity. 

Section  IV.   The  argument  from  prophecy . 

The  same  course  of  argument  which  proves 


44 

that  the  version  of  the  Scriptures  and  the 
Augsburg  confession  in  the  possession  of  the 
Lutheran  church;  that  the  articles,  liturgy 
and  homilies  in  the  possession  of  the  church 
of  England ;  that  the  New  Testament  in  the 
possession  of  the  whole  Christian  world, 
were  derived  from  the  sources  to  which  they 
are  severally  referred,  proves  with  equal  force 
that  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament  in  the 
possession  of  the  Jews  are  the  productions  of 
the  ancient  prophets.  Jews  and  Christians 
now  have  them.  They  had  them  a  century 
ago;  they  had  them  in  the  time  of  Christ. 
They  were  then  universally  acknowledged  by 
the  Israelites  in  Judea  and  elsewhere.  They 
can  be  historically  traced  up  centuries  before 
the  advent  of  Christ.  Three  hundred  years 
before  that  event,  they  were  translated  into 
the  Greek  language  and  widely  disseminated. 
They  contain  the  history,  laws  and  litera- 
ture of  the  people  of  Judea,  whose  existence 
and  peculiarities  are  as  well  ascertained  as 
those  of  any  people  in  the  world.  These 
writings  are  essential  to  account  for  the  known 
character  of  that  people,  for  it  was  in  virtue 
of  these  sacred  books  that  they  were  what 
they  were.  Critics  have  indeed  disputed 
about  the  particular  dates  of  some  of  these 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  45 

productions,  but  no  one  has  had  the  hardihood 
to  deny  that  they  existed  centuries  before  the 
birth  of  Christ.  This  being  admitted,  we 
have  a  basis  for  another  argument  for  the 
truth  of  Christianity,  which  cannot  be  re- 
sisted. 

In  these  ancient  writings,  preserved  in  the 
hands  of  the  open  enemies  of  Christ,  we  find 
the  advent  of  a  deliverer  clearly  predicted. 
Immediately  after  the  apostacy,  it  was  fore- 
told that  the  seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise 
the  serpent's  head.  This  prediction  is  the 
germ  of  all  the  subsequent  prophecies,  which 
do  but  reveal  its  manifold  meaning.  Who 
the  promised  seed  was  to  be,  and  how  the 
power  of  evil  was  by  him  to  be  destroyed, 
later  predictions  gradually  revealed.  It  was 
first  made  known  that  the  Redeemer  should 
belong  to  the  race  of  Shem.^  Then  that  he 
should  be  of  the  seed  of  Abraham  to  whom 
the  promise  was  made ;  In  thy  seed  shall  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed  ;t  then  that 
he  should  be  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  of  whom  it 
was  foretold  that,  The  sceptre  shall  not  de- 
part from  Judah,  or  ia  law-giver  from  between 
his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come,  and  to  him  shall 
be  the  gathering  of  the  people.  J    Subsequent- 

*  Gen.  ix.  26.       .  f  Gen.  xxii.  18.  t  Gen.  xlix.  10. 


46  THE    SCRIPTURES, 

ly  it  was  revealed  that  he  was  to  be  of  the 
lineage  of  David ;  There  shall  come  forth  a 
rod  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,  and  a  branch 
shall  grow  out  of  his  roots,  and  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him,  the  spirit  of 
wisdom  and  understanding,  the  spirit  of  know- 
ledge and  the  fear  of  the  Lord.^  ' 
It  was  foretold  that  his  advent  should  be 
preceded  by  that  of  a  special  messenger.  Be- 
hold I  will  send  my  messenger,  and  he  shall 
prepare  the  way  before  me ;  and  the  Lord 
whom  ye  seek  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  tem- 
ple, even  the  messenger  of  the  covenant  whom 
ye  delight  in :  behold  he  shall  come  saith  the 
Lord  of  Hosts. t  The  time,  the  manner,  and 
the  place  of  his  birth  were  all  predicted.  As 
to  the  time,  Daniel  said.  Know  therefore  and 
understand,  that  from  the  going  forth  of  the 
commandment  to  build  and  restore  Jerusalem, 
unto  Messiah  the  prince,  shall  be  seven  weeks 
and  three-score  and  two  weeks.  J  As  to  the 
miraculous  manner  of  his  birth,  Isaiah  said. 
Behold  a  virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  son, 
and  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel.^  As  to 
the  place,  Micah  said.  But  thou  Bethlehem- 
Ephratah  though  thou  be  little  among  the 

*Is.  xi.  1,  2.  tMal.  iii.  1. 

I  Daniel  ix.  25.  5  Isaiah  vii.  1 4. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  47 

thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall 
he  come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to  be  ruler  in 
Israel.^ 

This  deliverer  was  to  be  a  poor  man.  Be- 
hold, O  daughter  of  Zion,  thy  king  cometh 
unto  thee%lowly  and  riding  upon  an  ass  and 
upon  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass.f  He  was  to  be 
a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief, 
despised  and  rejected  of  men,  J  and  yet  Imma- 
nuel,  God  with  us,^  Jehovah  our  righteous- 
ness, ||  "Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The  Mighty 
God,  The  everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of 
Peace,Tr  whose  goings  forth  were  of  old,  from 
the  days  of  eternity.^* 

The  Redeemer  thus  predicted  was  to  ap- 
pear in  the  character  of  a  prophet  or  divine 
teacher.  The  Lord  thy  God,  said  Moses,  will 
raise  up  unto  thee  a  prophet  from  the  midst 
of  thee,  of  thy  brethren,  like  unto  me,  unto 
him  shall  ye  hearken. ff  Behold  my  servant 
whom  I  uphold,  mine  elect  in  whom  my  soul 
delighteth,  I  have  put  my  Spirit  upon  him, 
he  shall  bring  forth  judgment  unto  the  Gen- 
tiles. Jf  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon 
me,  because  he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach 

*  Micah  V.  2.,  fZech.  ix.  9.  t  Is.  53. 

5  Is.  vii.  14.  II  Jer.  xxiii.  6.  IT  Is.  ix.  6. 

**  Mich.  V.  2.  tt  Deut.  xviii.  15.     tt  ^s.  xlii.  i. 


48  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

good  tidings  iinto  the  meek ;  he  hath  sent  me 
to  bind  up  the  broken  hearted,  to  proclaim 
liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the 
prison  to  them  that  are  bound.*  In  that  day- 
shall  the  deaf  hear  the  words  of  the  book,  the 
eyes  of  the  blind  shall  see  out  of # obscurity 
and  out  of  darkness ;  the  meek  also  shall  in- 
crease their  joy  in  the  Lord,  and  the  poor 
among  men  shall  rejoice  in  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel,  t 

He  was  also  to  be  a  priest.  The  Lord  hath 
sworn  and  will  not  repent.  Thou  art  a  priest 
for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek.  J  He 
shall  build  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and  he 
shall  bear  the  glory,  and  shall  sit  and  rule 
upon  his  throne,  and  he  shall  be  a  priest  upon 
his  throne.  J 

The  regal  character  of  this  Redeemer  is 
set  forth  in  almost  every  page  of  the  pro- 
phetic writings.  I  have  anointed,  (said  God 
in  reference  to  the  Messiah,)  my  king  on  my 
holy  hill  of  Zion.||  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is 
for  ever  and  ever ;  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom 
is  a  sceptre  of  righteousness.  Thou  lovest 
righteousness  and  hatest  wickedness,  there- 
fore God,  thy  God  hath  anointed  thee  with 

*  Is.  Ixi.  1.  t  Is-  xxix  18,  19.  t  Ps.  ex.  4. 

}  Zech.  vL  13.  ||  Ps.  ii.  6. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  49 

the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows.*  Unto 
us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given, 
and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoul- 
der. Of  the  increase  of  his  government  and 
peace  there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne 
of  David,  and  upon  his  kingdom  to  order  it, 
and  to  establish  it  with  judgment  and  with 
justice,  from  henceforth  even  for  ever.f 

The  characteristics  of  this  kingdom  of  the 
Messiah  were  also  clearly  predicted.  They 
were  to  be  spiritual,  in  distinction  from  the 
external  and  ceremonial  character  of  the  for- 
mer dispensation.  Behold,  the  days  come, 
saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  make  a  new  co- 
venant with  the  house  of  Israel  and  with  the 
house  of  Judah;  not  according  to  the  cove- 
nant that  I  made  with  their  fathers,  &c.  I 
will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and 
write  it  in  their  hearts,  and  will  be  their  God, 
and  they  shall  be  my  people. f  Hence  the 
effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  so  constantly 
mentioned  as  attending  the  advent  of  the  pro- 
mised Redeemer.  In  that  day  I  will  pour  out 
my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh,  and  your  sons  and 
your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  &c.§ 

Again,  this  kingdom  was  not  to  be  confined 

*  Ps.  xlv.  6,  7.  t  Is.  ix.  6,  7. 

\  Jer.  xxxi.  31,  32,  33.  }  Joel  ii.  28. 

5 


50  THE    SCRIPTURES, 

to  the  Jews,  but  was  to  include  all  the  world. 
As  early  as  in  the  book  of  Genesis  it  was  de- 
clared that  the  obedience  of  all  nations  should 
be  yielded  to  Shiloh,  and  that  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  should  be  blessed  in  Abraham 
and  his  seed.  God  promised  the  Messiah 
that  he  should  have  the  heathen  for  his  in- 
heritance and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  his  possession.^  It  shall  come  to  pass  in 
the  last  days,  said  Isaiah,  that  the  mountain 
of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established  in 
the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  ex- 
alted above  the  hills,  and  all  nations  shall 
flow  unto  it.f  It  is  a  light  thing,  said  God, 
that  thou  shouldst  be  my  servant  to  raise  up 
the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  pre- 
served of  Israel ;  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a 
light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  mayest  be  my 
salvation  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  J  In 
that  day  there  shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse,  which 
shall  stand  for  an  ensign  of  the  people;  to 
it  shall  the  Gentiles  seek.^  I  saw  in  the 
night  visions,  said  Daniel,  and  behold,  one 
like  the  Son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds  of 
heaven,  and  came  to  the  Ancient  of  days,  and 
they  brought  him  near  before  him ;  and  there 
was  given  to  him  dominion  and  glory,  and  a 

*  Ps.  ii.  8.         t  Is.  ii.  2.         J  Is.  xlix.  6.         5  Is.  xi.  10. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  51 

kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations  and  lan- 
guages should  serve  him ;  his  dominion  is  an 
everlasting  dominion  which  shall  not  pass 
away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not 
be  destroyed.^  Its  progress  however  was  to 
be  gradual.  The  stone  cut  out  of  the  moun- 
tains, without  hands,  was  to  break  in  pieces 
the  iron,  the  brass,  the  clay,  the  silver  and 
the  gold,  i.  e.  all  other  kingdoms,  and  become 
a  great  mountain  and  fill  the  whole  earth. f 

Though  the  prophets  describe,  in  such 
strong  language,  the  excellence,  glory  and  tri- 
umph of  this  Redeemer,  they  did  not  the  less 
distinctly  predict  his  rejection,  sufferings  and 
death.  Lord,  who  hath  believed  our  report? 
and  to  w^hom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  re- 
vealed? For  he  shall  grow  up  before  him 
as  a  tender  plant,  and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry 
ground ;  he  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men ; 
we  hid  as  it  were  our  faces  from  him ;  he  was 
despised  and  we  esteemed  him  not.  J  To 
him  whom  man  despiseth,  to  him  whom  the 
nation  abhorreth,  to  a  servant  of  rulers,  kings 
shall  see  and  arise,  and  princes  also  shall 
worship.^  The  people  whom  he  came  to  re- 
deem, it  was  foretold,  would  not  only  reject 
him,  but  betray  and  sell  him  for  thirty  pieces 

*Dan.  vii.  13,  14.  f  Dan.  ii.  45. 

I  Is.  liii.  5  Is.  xlix.  7. 


52 

of  silver.  If  ye  think  good,  give  me  my  price, 
and  if  not,  forbear.  So  they  vreighed  for  my 
price  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  And  the  Lord 
said  unto  me,  Cast  it  unto  the  potter,  a 
goodly  price  that  I  was  prized  at  of  them.* 
He  was  to  be  grievously  persecuted  and  put 
to  death.  He  was,  said  the  prophet,  taken 
from  prison  and  from  judgment  (cut  off  by  an 
oppressive  judgment)  and  who  shall  declare 
his  generation?  for  he  was  cut  off  out  of 
the  land  of  the  living ;  for  the  transgression 
of  my  people  was  he  stricken.  And  he  made 
his  grave  with  the  wicked  and  with  the 
rich  in  his  death. f  Even  the  manner  and 
circumstances  of  his  death  were  minutely 
foretold.  The  assembly  of  the  wicked  have 
enclosed  me ;  they  pierced  my  hands  and  my 
feet.  They  part  my  garments  among  them 
and  cast  lots  upon  my  vesture.  J  He  was  not 
however  to  continue  under  the  power  of 
death.  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell ; 
neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thy  holy  one  to  see 
corruption.  § 

The  consequences  of  the  rejection  of  the 
Messiah  to  the  Jewish  people  were  also  pre- 
dicted with  great  distinctness.     The  children 

*Zech.  xi.  12,  13.  t  Is-  l"i-  8,  9. 

t  Ps.  xxii.  16,  18.  {  Ps.  xvi.  10. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  53 

of  Israel,  it  is  said,  shall  abide  many  days 
without  a  king,  and  without  a  prince,  and 
without  a  sacrifice,  and  without  an  image, 
and  without  teraphim.  Afterward  shall  the 
children  of  Israel  return  and  seek  the  Lord 
and  his  goodness  in  the  latter  days.*  Though 
the  number  of  the  children  of  Israel  be  as 
the  sand  of  the  sea,  a  remnant  shall  return,  f 
Of  the  rebellious  portion  of  the  nation  it  was 
said,  I  will  scatter  them  among  all  people, 
from  one  end  of  the  earth  to  the  other,  and 
among  those  nations  shalt  thou  find  no  ease, 
neither  shall  the  soul  of  thy  foot  have  rest ; 
....  And  thou  shalt  become  an  astonishment 
a  proverb,  and  a  by-word  among  all  na- 
tions, whither  the  Lord  shall  lead  thee. J 
Though  thus  scattered  and  afflicted,  they 
were  not  to  be  utterly  destroyed,  for  God  pro- 
mised saying,  When  they  are  in  the  land  of 
their  enemies  I  will  not  cast  them  away, 
neither  will  I  abhor  them  to  destroy  them 
utterly,  and  to  break  my  covenant  with  them, 
for  I  am  the  Lord  their  God.^  It  was  more- 
over predicted  that  after  a  long  dispersion 
they  should  be  brought  to  acknowledge  their 
crucified  king.     I  will  pour  upon  the  house 

*  Hos.  iii.  4,  5.  t  Is.  x.  22,  23. 

t  Deut.  xxviii.  37,  66.  5  Lev.  xxvi.  44. 

5* 


54  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

of  David  and  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusa- 
lem, the  spirit  of  grace  and  supplications,  and 
they  shall  look  upon  me  whom  they  have 
pierced,  and  they  shall  mourn  for  him,  as  one 
mourneth  for  his  only  son,  and  shall  be  in 
bitterness  for  him,  as  one  that  is  in  bitterness 
for  his  first-born.*  This  same  prophet  fore- 
told that  after  the  people  had  rejected  and 
betrayed  the  good  shepherd,  they  should  be 
given  up  to  the  oppression  of  their  enemies, 
the  greater  portion  should  be  destroyed,  but 
the  residue,  after  long  suffering,  should  be 
restored,  t 

This  representation  of  the  prophecies  of 
the  Jewish  Scriptures,  respecting  Christ  and 
his  kingdom,  is  in  the  highest  degree  inade- 
quate. It  would  be  impossible  to  give  a  full 
exhibition  of  the  subject,  without  unfolding 
the  whole  Old  Testament  economy.  It  is 
not  in  detached  predictions  merely,  that  the 
former  dispensation  was  prophetic.  In  its 
main  design  it  was  prefigurative  and  prepara- 
tory. It  had  indeed  its  immediate  purpose 
to  answer,  in  preserving  the  Israelites  a  dis- 
tinct people,  in  sustaining  the  true  religion, 
and  in  exhibiting  the  divine  perfections  in 
his  government  of  the  church.     But  all  this 

*  Zech.  xii.  10.  t  Zech.  xiii.  7.  9. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  55 

was  subordinate  to  its  grand  purpose  of  pre- 
paring that  people  and  the  world  for  the  ad- 
vent of  Christ,  and  to  be  a  shadowy  represen- 
tation of  the  glories  of  the  new  dispensation, 
for  the  double  purpose  of  affording  an  object 
of  faith  and  hope  to  those  then  living,  and 
that  the  new  economy  might  be  better  under- 
stood, more  firmly  believed  and  more  exten- 
sively embraced.  Detached  passages  from 
such  a  scheme  of  history  and  prophecy  are 
like  the  scattered  ruins  of  an  ancient  temple. 
To  form  a  just  judgment  the  plan  must  be 
viewed  as  a  whole  as  well  as  in  its  details. 
It  could  then  be  seen  that  the  history  of  the 
Jews  was  the  history  of  the  lineage  of  Christ ; 
the  whole  sacrificial  ritual  a  prefiguration  of 
the  Lamb  of  God  who  was  to  bear  the  sin  of 
the  world ;  that  the  tabernacle  and  the  tem- 
ple, with  their  complicated  services,  were 
types  of  things  spiritual  and  heavenly ;  that 
the  prophets,  who  were  the  teachers  and  cor- 
rectors of  the  people,  were  sent,  not  merely 
nor  principally  to  foretell  temporal  deliver- 
ances, but  mainly  to  keep  the  eyes  of  the  peo- 
ple directed  upward  and  onward  to  the  great 
deliverer  and  to  the  final  redemption.  De- 
tached passages  can  give  no  adequate  concep- 
tion of  this  stupendous  scheme  of  preparation 


56  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

and  prophecy,  running  through  thousands  of 
years,  and  its  thousand  lines  all  tending  to 
one  common  centre, — the  cross  of  Christ. 
The  argument  from  prophecy  in  support  of 
the  truth  of  Christianity,  therefore,  can  be 
appreciated  by  those  only  who  will  candidly 
study  the  whole  system.  Still  enough  has 
been  presented  to  show  that  it  is  impossible 
to  account  for  the  correspondence  between 
the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
events  recorded  in  the  New,  upon  any  other 
assumption  than  that  of  divine  inspiration. 
We  have  seen  that  it  was  predicted,  centu- 
ries before  the  advent  of  Christ,  that  a  great 
deliverer  should  arise,  to  be  born  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  and  of  the  family  of  David,  and  at 
the  village  of  Bethlehem ;  that  he  should  be  a 
poor  and  humble  man  and  yet  worthy  of  the 
highest  reverence  paid  to  God ;  that  he  should 
be  a  teacher,  priest  and  king ;  that  he  should 
be  rejected  by  his  own  people,  persecuted  and 
put  to  death ;  that  he  should  rise  again  from 
the  dead ;  that  the  Spirit  of  God  should  be 
poured  out  upon  his  followers,  giving  them 
holiness,  wisdom  and  courage;  that  true  reli- 
gion, no  longer  confined  to  the  Jews,  should 
be  extended  to  the  Gentiles,  and  in  despite  of 
.all  opposition  should  continue,  triumph  and 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  57 

ultimately  cover  the  earth;  that  the  Jews 
who  rejected  the  Messiah,  should  be  cast  off 
and  scattered  and  yet  preserved ;  like  a  river 
in  the  ocean,  divided  but  not  dissipated,  a 
standing  miracle,  a  fact  without  a  parallel  or 
analogy.  Here  then  is  the  whole  history  of 
Christ  and  his  kingdom,  written  centuries 
before  his  advent.  A  history  full  of  appa- 
rent inconsistencies ;  a  history  not  written  in 
one  age  or  by  one  man,  but  in  different  ages 
and  by  different  men,  each  adding  some  new 
fact  or  characteristic,  yet  all  combining  to 
form  one  consistent,  though  apparently  con- 
tradictory whole. 

Admitting  then,  what  no  one  denies,  the 
antiquity  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  there  is 
no  escape  from  the  conclusion  that  they  were 
written  by  divine  inspiration,  and  that  Jesus 
Christ,  to  whom  they  so  plainly  refer,  is  the 
Son  of  God  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 
To  suppose  that  Christ,  knowing  these  an- 
cient prophecies,  set  himself,  without  divine 
commission,  to  act  in  accordance  with  them, 
is  to  suppose  impossibilities.  It  is  to  sup- 
pose that  Jesus  Christ  was  a  bad  man,  which 
no  one,  who  reads  the  New  Testament,  can 
believe,  any  more  than  he  can  believe  that 
the  sun  is  the  blackness  of  darkness.     It  is 


58  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

to  suppose  him  to  have  had  a  control  over  the 
actions  of  others  which  no  impostor  could 
exert.  Many  of  the  most  important  predic- 
tions in  reference  to  Christ  were  fulfilled  by 
the  acts  of  his  enemies.  Did  Christ  instigate 
the  treachery  of  Judas,  or  prompt  the  priests 
to  pay  the  traitor  thirty  pieces  of  silver? 
Did  he  plot  with  Pilate  for  his  own  condem- 
nation ?  or  so  arrange  that  he  should  die  by  a 
Roman,  instead  of  a  Jewish,  mode  of  capital 
infliction?  Did  he  induce  the  soldiers  to 
part  his  garments  and  cast  lots  upon  his  ves- 
ture, or  stipulate  with  them  that  none  of  his 
bones  should  be  broken  ?  By  what  possible 
contrivance  could  the  two  great  predicted 
events  of  the  final  destruction  of  the  Jewish 
policy  and  the  consequent  dispersion  of  the 
Jews,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  rapid  propa- 
gation of  the  new  religion  among  the  Gen- 
tiles, on  the  other,  have  been  brought  to 
pass?  These  events  were  predicted,  their 
occurrence  was  beyond  the  scope  of  contri- 
vance or  imposture.  There  is  no  rational 
answer  to  this  argument  from  prophecy. 
The  testimony  of  the  Scriptures  to  the  mes- 
siahship  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  testimony  of 
God.  Search  the  Scriptures,  said  our  Sa- 
viour himself,  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  59 

eternal  life,  and  they  are  they  which  testify 
of  me. 

God  then  has  been  pleased  to  hedge  up  the 
way  to  infidelity.  Men  must  do  violence  to 
all  the  usual  modes  of  argument ;  they  must 
believe  moral  impossibilities  and  irreconcila- 
ble contradictions,  and  above  all  they  must 
harden  their  hearts  to  the  excellence  of  the 
Saviour,  before  they  can  become  infidels. 

This  exposition  of  the  grounds  of  faith  is 
made  in  order  to  show  that  unbelief  is  a  sin ; 
and  to  justify  the  awful  declaration  of  Christ, 
''He  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned." 
Men  flatter  themselves  that  they  are  not  re- 
sponsible for  their  faith.  Belief  being  in- 
voluntary, cannot,  it  is  said,  be  a  matter  of 
praise  or  blame.  This  false  opinion  arises 
from  confounding  things  very  different  in 
their  nature.  Faith  differs  according  to  its 
object  and  the  nature  of  the  evidence  on 
which  it  is  founded.  A  man  believes  that 
two  and  two  are  four,  or  that  Napoleon  died 
in  St.  Helena,  and  is  neither  morally  better, 
nor  worse  for  such  a  faith.  Disbelief,  in 
such  cases,  would  indicate  insanity,  not  moral 
aberration.  But  no  man  can  believe  that  vir- 
tue is  vice  or  vice  virtue,  without  being  to 
the  last  degree  depraved.     No  man  can  dis- 


60  THE  SCRIPTURES, 

believe  in  God,  especially  under  the  light  of 
revelation,  without  thereby  showing  that  he 
is  destitute  of  all  right  moral  and  religious 
sentiments.  And  no  man  can  disbelieve  the 
record  which  God  has  given  of  his  Son, 
without  being  blind  to  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  moral  excellence  of  the  Saviour.  He  re- 
jects the  appropriate  testimony  of  God,  con- 
veyed in  a  manner  which  proves  it  to  be  his 
testimony. 

It  is  vain,  therefore,  for  any  man  to  hope 
that  he  can  be  innocently  destitute  of  faith 
in  God  or  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  If  the 
external  world  retains  such  an  impression  of 
the  hand  of  God,  as  to  leave  those  without 
excuse,  who  refuse  to  regard  it  as  his  work ; 
surely  those  who  refuse  to  acknowledge  the 
excellence  of  his  word  and  the  glory  of  his 
Son,  will  not  be  held  guiltless.  The  evi- 
dence which  has  convinced  millions,  is  be- 
fore their  eyes,  and  should  convince  them. 
Instead,  therefore,  of  apologizing  for  their 
want  of  faith  and  complaining  of  the  weak- 
ness of  the  evidence,  to  which  nothing  but 
neglect  or  blindness  can  render  them  insen- 
sible, let  them  confess  their  guilt  in  not  be- 
lieving, and  humble  theraselves  before  God 
and  pray  that  he  would  open  their  eyes  to 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  61 

see  the  excellence  of  his  word.  They  should 
dismiss  their  cavils,  and  be  assured  that  if 
the  Bible  does  not  win  their  faith  by  its 
milder  glories,  it  will  one  day  reveal  itself  by 
its  terrors,  to  their  awakened  consciences,  to 
be  indeed  the  word  of  God. 


CHAPTER  11. 


SIN. 


Section  I.  All  men  are  sinners.  The  na- 
ture of  many  since  the  fall^  is  depraved. 

Since  then  the  Scriptures  are  undoubted- 
ly the  word  of  God,  with  what  reverence 
should  we  receive  their  divine  instructions ; 
with  what  assiduity  and  humility  should  we 
study  them ;  with  what  confidence  should  we 
rely  upon  the  truth  of  all  their  declarations ; 
and  with  what  readiness  should  we  obey  all 
their  directions !  We  are  specially  concern- 
ed to  learn  what  they  teach  with  regard  to 
the  character  of  men,  the  way  of  salvation, 
and  the  rule  of  duty. 

With  respect  to  the  first  of  these  points, 
(the  character  of  men)  the  Bible  very  clearly 
teaches  that  all  men  are  sinners.  The  apos- 
tle Paul  not  only  asserts  this  truth,  but 
proves  it  at  length,  in  reference  both  to  those 
who  live  under  the  light  of  nature,  and  those 
who  enjoy  the  light  of  revelation.     The  for- 


SIN.  63 

mer,  he  says,  are  justly  chargeable  with  im- 
piety and  immorality,  because  the  perfections 
of  the  divine  Being,  his  eternal  power  and 
godhead,  have,  from  the  creation,  been  mani- 
fested by  the  things  which  are  made.  Yet 
men  have  not  acknowledged  their  creator. 
They  neither  worshipped  him  as  God,  nor 
were  thankful  for  his  mercies,  but  served  the 
creature  more  than  the  creator.  In  thus  de- 
parting from  the  fountain  of  all  excellence, 
they  departed  from  excellence  itself  Their 
foolish  hearts  were  darkened  and  their  cor- 
ruption manifests  itself  not  only  by  degrading 
idolatry,  but  by  the  various  forms  of  moral 
evil  both  in  heart  and  life.  These  sins  are 
committed  against  the  law.  which  is  written 
on  every  man's  heart ;  so  that  they  know  that 
those  who  do  such  things  are  worthy  of 
death,  and  are  therefore  without  excuse  even 
in  their  own  consciousness. 

With  regard  to  those  who  enjoy  a  super- 
natural revelation  of  the  character  and  re- 
quirements of  God,  the  case  is  still  more 
plain.  Instead  of  rendering  to  this  God  the 
inward  and  outward  homage  which  are  his 
due,  they  neglect  his  service,  and  really  pre- 
fer his  creatures  to  himself.  Instead  of  re- 
gulating their  conduct  by  the  perfect  rule  of 


64  SIN. 

duty  contained  in  the  Scriptures,  they  con- 
stantly dishonour  God,  by  breaking  that  law. 
It  is  thus  the  apostle  shows  that  all  classes  of 
men,  when  judged  by  the  light  they  have 
severally  enjoyed,  are  found  guilty  before 
God.  This  universality  of  guilt  moreover, 
he  says,  is  confirmed  by  the  clear  testimony 
of  the  Scriptures,  which  declare,  There  is 
none  righteous,  no  not  one.  There  is  none 
that  understandeth ;  there  is  none  that  seek- 
eth  after  God.  They  have  all  gone  out  of 
the  way;  they  have  altogether  become  un- 
profitable ;  there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no 
not  one. 

This  language  is  not  used  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  reference  to  the  men  of  any  one  age 
or  country,  but  in  reference  to  the  human 
race.  It  is  intended  to  describe  the  moral 
character  of  man.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  it 
is  quoted  and  applied  by  the  apostle.  And 
we  accordingly  find  similar  declarations  in 
all  parts  of  the  Bible,  in  the  New  Testament, 
as  well  as  in  the  Old,  in  the  writings  of  one 
age,  as  well  as  in  those  of  another.  And 
there  are  no  passages  of  an  opposite  charac- 
ter ;  there  are  none  which  represent  the  race 
as  being  what  God  requires,  nor  any  which 
speak  of  any  member  of  that  race  as  being 


^IN.  65 

free  from  sin.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  express- 
ly said,  If  we  say  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive 
ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us.*  In 
many  things  we  all  offend. f  There  is  no 
man  that  sinneth  not.f  All  have  sinned  and 
come  short  of  the  glory  of  God.§  Hence  the 
Scriptures  proceed  upon  the  assumption  of 
the  universal  sinfulness  of  men.  To  speak, 
to  act,  to  walk  after  the  manner  of  men,  is,  in 
the  language  of  the  Bible,  to  speak  or  act 
wickedly.  The  world  are  the  wicked.  This 
present  evil  world,  is  the  description  of  man- 
kind, from  whose  character  and  deserved 
punishment,  it  is  said  to  be  the  design  of 
Christ's  death  to  redeem  his  people.  ||  The 
world  cannot  hate  you,  said  our  Saviour  to 
those  who  refused  to  be  his  disciples,  but  me 
it  hateth,  because  I  testify  of  it  that  the 
works  thereof  are  evil.  If  They  are  of  the 
world,  therefore  they  speak  of  the  world  and 
the  world  heareth  them.**  We  are  of  God, 
and  the  whole  world  lieth  in  wickedness,  ff 

This  however  is  not  a  doctrine  taught  in 
isolated  passages.     It  is  one  of  those  funda- 

*  1  John  i.  8.  t  James  iii.  2. 

I  1  Kings  viii.  46.  5  Ro"^-  i"-  23. 

II  Gal.  i.  4.  IT  John  vii.  7. 
**  1  Johniv.  5.  ft  1  John  v.  19. 

6* 


66  SIN. 

mental  truths  which  are  taken  for  granted  in 
almost  every  page  of  the  Bible.  The  whole 
scheme  of  redemption  supposes  that  man  is  a 
fallen  being.  Christ  came  to  seek  and  to 
save  the  lost.  He  was  announced  as  the  Sa- 
viour of  sinners.  His  advent  and  work  have 
no  meaning  or  value  but  upon  the  assump- 
tion that  we  are  guilty,  for  he  came  to  save 
his  people  from  their  sins ;  to  die  the  just  for 
the  unjust ;  to  bear  our  sins  in  his  own  body 
on  the  tree.  Those  who  have  no  sin,  need 
no  Saviour ;  those  who  do  not  deserve  death, 
need  no  Redeemer.  As  the  doctrine  of  re- 
demption pervades  the  Scripture,  so  does  the 
doctrine  of  the  universal  sinfulness  of  men. 

This  doctrine  is  also  assumed  in  all  the 
Scriptural  representations  of  what  is  neces- 
sary for  admission  into  heaven.  All  men, 
everywhere,  are  commanded  to  repent.  But 
repentance  supposes  sin.  Every  man  must 
be  born  again,  in  order  to  see  the  kingdom  of 
God;  he  must  become  a  new  creature;  he 
must  be  renewed  after  the  image  of  God. 
Being  dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins,  he 
must  be  quickened,  or  made  partaker  of  a 
spiritual  life.  In  short,  it  is  the  uniform 
doctrine  of  the  Bible,  that  all  men  need  both 
pardon  and  sanctification  in  order  to  their  ad- 


SIN.  67 

mission  to  heaven.     It  therefore  teaches  that 
all  men  are  sinners. 

The  Scriptures  moreover  teach  that  the 
sinfulness  of  men  is  deep  seated ;  or,  consist- 
ing in  a  corruption  of  the  heart,  it  manifests 
itself  in  innumerable  forms  in  the  actions  of 
the  life.  All  the  imaginations  of  man's  heart 
are  only  evil  continually.*  God  says  of  the 
human  heart  that  it  is  deceitful  above  all 
things  and  desperately  wricked. f  All  men, 
by  nature  are  the  children  of  wTath.  J  And 
therefore  the  Psalmist  says.  Behold  I  was 
shapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother 
conceive  me.  J 

This  corruption  of  our  nature  is  the  ground 
of  the  constant  reference  of  every  thing  good 
in  man  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  of  everything 
evil,  to  his  own  nature.  Hence  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Bible,  the  natural  man  is  a  cor- 
rupt man;  and  the  spiritual  man  alone  is 
good.  Hence  too  the  constant  opposition  of 
the  terms  flesh  and  spirit ;  the  former  mean- 
ing our  nature  as  it  is  apart  from  divine  in- 
fluence, and  the  latter  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  its 
immediate  effects.  To  be  in  the  flesh,  to 
walk  after  the  flesh,  to  mind  the  things  of  the 

♦  Gen.  vi.  5.  f  Jer.  xvii.  9. 

t  Eph.  ii.  3.  {  Ps.  li.  5. 


68  SIN. 

flesh,  are  all  Scriptural  expressions  descrip- 
tive of  the  natural  state  of  men.  It  is  in  this 
sense  of  the  term  that  Paul  says,  In  my  flesh 
there  dwelleth  no  good  thing;*  and  that  our 
Saviour  said,  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh 
is  flesh,  t 

This  humbling  doctrine  is,  moreover,  in- 
volved in  all  the  descriptions  which  the  Bible 
gives  of  the  nature  of  that  moral  change 
which  is  necessary  to  salvation.  It  is  no 
mere  outward  reformation ;  it  is  no  assiduous 
performance  of  external  duties.  It  is  a  re- 
generation ;  a  being  born  of  the  Spirit ;  a  new 
creation ;  a  passing  from  death  unto  life.  A 
change  never  effected  by  the  subject  of  it,  but 
which  has  its  source  in  God.  Of  no  doc- 
trine, therefore,  is  the  Bible  more  full  than  of 
that  which  teaches  that  men  are  depraved 
and  fallen  beings,  who  have  lost  the  image  of 
God,  and  who  must  be  created  anew  in  Christ 
Jesus  before  they  can  see  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

These  Scriptural  representations  respect- 
ing the  universality  of  sin  and  the  corruption 
of  our  nature,  are  abundantly  confirmed  by 
experience  and  observation.  Men  may  differ 
as  to  the  extent  of  their  sinfulness,  or  as  to 

*  Rom.  vii.  18.  f  John  iii.  6. 


SIN.  69 

the  ill  desert  of  their  transgressions,  but  they 
cannot  be  insensible  to  the  fact  that  they  are 
sinners,  or  that  they  have  sustained  this  cha- 
racter as  long  as  they  have  had  any  self- 
knowledge.  As  far  back  as  they  can  go  in 
the  history  of  their  being,  they  find  the  testi- 
mony of  conscience  against  them.  As  this 
consciousness  of  sin  is  universal,  and  as  it 
exists  as  soon  as  we  have  any  knowledge  of 
ourselves,  it  proves  that  we  are  fallen  beings ; 
that  we  have  lost  the  moral  image  of  God 
with  which  our  first  parents  were  created. 
It  is  a  fact,  of  which  every  human  being  is  a 
witness,  that  our  moral  nature  is  such,  that 
instead  of  seeking  our  happiness  in  God  and 
holiness,  we  prefer  the  creature  to  the  creator. 
It  would  be  just  as  unreasonable  to  assert  that 
this  was  the  original,  proper  state  of  man,  as 
to  say  our  reason  was  sound,  if  it  universally, 
immediately  and  infallibly  led  us  into  wrong 
judgments  upon  subjects  fairly  within  its 
competency. 

The  proof,  that  man  is  a  depraved  being, 
is  as  strong  as  that  he  is  a  rational,  a  social, 
or  a  moral  being.  He  gives  no  signs  of  rea- 
son at  his  birth ;  but  he  invariably  manifests 
his  intellectual  nature  as  soon  as  he  becomes 
capable  of  appreciating  the   objects  around 


70  SIN. 

him  or  of  expressing  the  operations  of  his 
mind.  No  one  supposes  reason  to  be  the  re- 
sult of  education,  or  the  effect  of  circumstan- 
ces, merely  because  its  operations  cannot  be 
detected  from  the  first  moment  of  existence. 
The  uniformity  of  its  manifestation  under  all 
circumstances,  is  regarded  as  sufiicient  proof 
that  it  is  an  attribute  of  our  nature. 

The  same  remark  may  be  made  respecting 
the  social  ajffections.  No  one  of  them  is  ma- 
nifested from  the  beginning  of  our  course  in 
this  world ;  yet  the  fact  that  men  in  all  ages 
and  under  all  circumstances,  evince  a  dispo- 
sition to  live  in  society ;  that  all  parents  love 
their  children,  that  all  people  have  more  or 
less  sympathy  in  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  their 
fellow-men,  is  proof  that  these  affections  are 
not  acquired,  but  original ;  that  they  belong  to 
our  nature  and  are  characteristic  of  it. 

In  like  manner  the  apostle  reasons  from  the 
fact  that  all  men  perform  moral  acts  and  ex- 
perience the  approbation  or  disapprobation  of 
conscience,  that  they  have,  by  nature,  and 
not  from  example,  instruction,  or  any  other 
external  influence,  but  in  virtue  of  their  origi- 
nal moral  constitution,  a  law  written  on  their 
hearts,  a  sense  of  right  and  wrong.  But  if 
the  uniform  occurrence  of  any  moral  acts  is  a 


SIN.  71 

proof  of  a  moral  nature,  the  uniform  occur- 
rence of  wrong  moral  acts  is  a  proof  of  a  cor- 
rupt moral  nature.  If  the  universal  manifes- 
tation of  reason  and  of  the  social  affections, 
proves  man  to  be  by  nature  a  rational  and  so- 
cial being,  the  universal  manifestation  of  sin- 
ful affections  proves  him  to  be  by  nature  a 
sinful  being.  When  we  say  that  any  one  is 
a  bad  man,  we  mean  that  the  predominant 
character  of  his  actions  proves  him  to  have 
bad  principles  or  dispositions.  And  when 
we  say  that  man's  nature  is  depraved,  we 
mean  that  it  is  a  nature  whose  moral  acts  are 
wrong.  And  this  uniformity  of  wrong  moral 
actions  is  as  much  a  proof  of  a  depraved  na- 
ture, as  the  acts  of  a  bad  man  are  a  proof  of 
the  predominance  of  evil  dispositions  in  his 
heart.  This  is  the  uniform  judgment  of  men, 
and  is  sanctioned  by  the  word  of  God.  A 
good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither 
can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit. 
Therefore  by  their  fruits  shall  ye  know  them. 
This  illustration  was  used  by  our  Saviour 
with  the  express  design  of  teaching  that  the 
predominant  character  of  the  acts  of  men,  is 
to  be  taken  as  a  certain  index  of  the  state  of 
the  heart ;  and  hence  the  uniform  occurrence 
of  sin  in  all  men  is  a  certain  evidence  of  the 


72  SIN. 

corruption  of  their  nature.  Indeed  there  is 
no  one  fact  with  regard  to  human  nature, 
which  consciousness  and  observation  more 
fully  establish  than  that  it  is  depraved. 

Section  II.  The  sins  of  men  are  numerous 
and  aggravated. 

The  Bible  not  only  teaches  that  all  men 
are  sinners,  and  that  the  evil  is  deeply  seated 
in  their  hearts,  but  moreover  that  their  sin- 
fulness is  very  great.  The  clearest  intima- 
tion which  a  lawgiver  can  give  of  his  esti- 
mate of  the  evil  of  transgression  is  the  penal- 
ty which  he  attaches  to  the  violation  of  his 
laws.  If  he  is  wise  and  good,  the  penalty 
will  be  a  true  index  of  the  real  demerit  of 
transgression ;  and  in  the  case  of  God,  who  is 
infinitely  wise  and  good,  the  punishment 
which  he  denounces  against  sin,  must  be  an 
exact  criterion  of  its  ill-desert.  If  we  are  un- 
able to  see  that  sin  really  deserves  what  God 
has  declared  to  be  its  proper  punishment,  it 
only  shows  that  our  judgment  differs  from 
his ;  and  that  it  should  thus  differ  is  no  mat- 
ter of  surprise.  We  cannot  know  all  the  rea- 
sons which  indicate  the  righteousness  of  the 
divine  threatenings.     We  can  have  no  ade- 


SIN.  73 

quate  conception  of  the  greatness,  goodness, 
and  wisdom  of  the  Being  against  whom  we 
sin ;  nor  of  the  evil  which  sin  is  suited  to  pro- 
duce ;  nor  of  the  perfect  excellence  of  the  law 
which  we  transgress.  That  sin  therefore 
appears  to  us  a  less  evil  than  God  declares  it 
to  be,  is  no  evidence  that  it  is  really  unde- 
serving of  his  wrath  and  curse. 

There  is  a  still  more  operative  cause  of  our 
low  estimate  of  the  evil  of  sin.  The  more 
depraved  a  man  is,  the  less  capable  is  he  of 
estimating  the  heinousness  of  his  transgres- 
sions. And  the  man  who  in  one  part  of  his 
career,  looked  upon  certain  crimes  with  ab- 
horrence, comes  at  last  to  regard  them  with 
indifference.  That  we  are  sinners  therefore, 
is  a  sufficient  explanation  of  the  fact,  that  we 
look  upon  sin  in  a  very  different  light  from 
that  in  which  it  is  presented  in  the  word  of 
God.  Nothing  then  can  be  more  reasonable 
than  that  we  should  bow  before  the  judgment 
of  God,  and  acknowledge  that  sin  reaUy  de- 
serves the  punishment  which  he  has  declared 
to  be  its  due.  That  punishment  is  so  awful, 
that  nothing  but  a  profound  reverence  for 
God,  and  some  adequate  conception  of  the 
evil  of  sin,  can  produce  a  sincere  acquiescence 
in  its  justice.  Yet  nothing  can  be  more  cer- 
7 


74  SIN. 

tain  than  that  this  punishment  is  the  proper 
measure  of  the  ill-desert  of  sin. 

The  term  commonly  employed  to  designate 
this  punishment  is  death ;  death  not  merely 
of  the  body,  but  of  the  soul ;  not  merely  tem- 
poral, but  eternal.  It  is  a  comprehensive 
term  therefore  to  express  all  the  evils  in  this 
world  and  the  world  to  come,  which  are  the 
penal  consequences  of  sin.  In  this  sense  it  is 
to  be  understood  in  the  threatening  made  to 
our  first  parents ;  In  the  day  thou  eatest  there- 
of thou  shalt  surely  die;^  and  when  the  pro- 
phet says.  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die  ;t 
and  when  the  apostle  says,  The  wages  of  sin 
is  death.  J  The  same  general  idea  is  ex- 
pressed by  the  word  curse.  As  many  as  are 
of  the  works  of  the  law  are  under  the  curse ; 
for  it  is  written.  Cursed  is  every  one  that 
continueth  not  in  all  things  written  in  the 
book  of  the  law  to  do  them;^  and  also  by  the 
word  wrath.  We  were  by  nature  the  children 
of  wrath,  II  The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from 
heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrigh- 
teousness of  men. IT 

These  and  similar  passages  teach  that  sin- 

*  Gen  ii.  17.  t  Ezek.  xviii.  4. 

X  Rom.  vi.  23.  }  Gal.  iii.  10. 

II  Eph.  ii.  3.  IT  Rom.  i.  18. 


SIN.  75 

ners  are  the  objects  of  the  divine  displeasure, 
and  that  this  displeasure  will  certainly  be 
manifested.  As  God  is  infinitely  good  and 
the  fountain  of  all  blessedness,  his  displeasure 
must  be  the  greatest  of  all  evils.  The  Scrip- 
tures, however,  in  order  to  impress  this  truth 
more  deeply  upon  our  minds,  employ  the 
strongest  terms  human  language  affords,  to 
set  forth  the  dreadful  import  of  God's  dis- 
pleasure. Those  who  obey  not  the  gospel,  it 
is  said,  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting 
destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord 
and  from  the  glory  of  his  power.*  Our  Sa- 
viour says.  The  wicked  shall  be  cast  into 
hell,  into  the  fire  that  never  shall  be  quench- 
ed ;  where  their  worm  dieth  not  and  the  fire 
is  not  quenched,  t  At  the  last  great  day,  he 
tells  us,  the  judge  shall  say  to  those  upon  his 
left  hand.  Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into 
everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his 
angels.  J  The  Son  of  man  shall  send  forth 
his  angels,  and  they  shall  gather  out  of  his 
kingdom  all  things  that  offend,  and  them  that 
do  iniquity,  and  shall  cast  them  into  a  fur- 
nace of  fire ;  there  shall  be  wailing  and  gnash- 
ing of  teeth.  ^     In  the  last  day,  all  that  are  in 

*  2  Thess.  i.  9.  f  Mark.  ix.  43,  44. 

X  Matt.  XXV.  41,  42.  5  Matt.  xiii.  41,  42. 


76  SIN. 

their  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall 
come  forth ;  they  that  have  done  good,  unto 
the  resurrection  of  life ;  and  they  that  have 
done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damna- 
tion;* or  as  it  is  expressed  in  Daniel,!  to 
shame  and  everlasting  contempt. 

Whatever  explanation  may  be  given  of  the 
terms  employed  in  these  and  many  similar 
passages,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  are 
intended  to  convey  the  idea  of  endless  and 
hopeless  misery.  Whence  this  misery  shall 
arise,  or  w^herein  it  shall  consist,  are  questions 
of  minor  importance.  It  is  suflScient  that  the 
Scriptures  teach  that  the  sufferings  here  spo- 
ken of,  are,  in  degree,  inconceivably  great  and 
in  duration  endless.  The  most  fearful  exhi- 
bition given  of  the  future  state  of  the  impeni- 
tent, is  that  v^hich  presents  them  as  repro- 
bates, as  abandoned  to  the  unrestrained  domi- 
nion of  evil.  The  repressing  influence  of 
conscience,  of  a  probationary  state,  of  a  re- 
gard to  character,  of  good  example,  and  above 
all  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  v^ill  be  w^ithdrawn,  and 
unmingled  malignity,  impurity  and  violence 
constitute  the  character  and  condition  of  those 
v^ho  finally  perish.  The  wricked  are  repre- 
sented as  constantly  blaspheming  God,  while 

*  John  V.  29.  t  I>aniel  xii.  2. 


t 


SIN.  77 

they  gnaw  their  tongues  with  pain.^  The 
God  who  pronounces  this  doom  upon  sinners, 
is  he  who  said,  As  I  live,  I  have  no  pleasure 
in  the  death  of  the  wicked.  The  most  fearful 
of  these  passages  fell  from  the  lips  of  the 
Lamb  of  God,  who  came  to  die  that  we  might 
not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  not  against 
the  chief  of  sinners  that  this  dreadful  punish- 
ment is  denounced.  It  is  against  sin,  one 
sin,  any  sin.  Cursed  is  every  one  that  con- 
tinueth  not  in  all  things  written  in  the  book 
of  the  law  to  do  them.f  Whosoever  shall 
keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in  one 
point,  he  is  guilty  of  all.  J  As  far  as  we 
know,  the  angels  were  punished  for  their 
first  offence.  Adam  and  his  race  fell  by  one 
transgression.  Human  governments  act  on 
the  same  principle.  If  a  man  commit  mur- 
der, he  suffers  death  for  the  one  offence.  If 
he  is  guilty  of  treason,  he  finds  no  defence  in 
his  freedom  from  other  crimes.  Sin  is  apos- 
tacy  from  God;  it  breaks  our  communion 
with  him,  and  is  the  ruin  of  the  soul. 

The  displeasure  of  God  against  sin  and  his 
fixed  determination  to  punish  it,  are  also  mani- 
fested by  the  certain  connexion  which  he  has 

*Rev.  xvL  10.         tClal.  iii.  10.         J  James  ii.  10. 

7^ 


78  SIN. 

established  between  sin  and  suffering.  It  is 
the  undeniable  tendency  of  sin  to  produce 
misery ;  and  althougli  in  this  world  the  good 
are  not  always  more  happy  than  the  wicked, 
this  only  shows  that  the  present  is  a  state  of 
trial  and  not  of  retribution.  It  affords  no  evi- 
dence to  contradict  the  proof  of  the  purpose 
of  God  to  punish  sin,  derived  from  the  ob- 
vious and  necessary  tendency  of  sin  to  pro- 
duce misery.  This  tendency  is  as  much  a 
law  of  nature  as  any  other  law  with  which 
we  are  acquainted.  Men  flatter  themselves 
that  they  will  escape  the  evil  consequences  of 
their  transgressions  by  appealing  to  the  mercy 
of  God,  and  obtaining  a  suspension  of  this  law 
in  their  behalf.  They  might  as  reasonably 
expect  the  law  of  gravitation  to  be  suspended 
for  their  convenience.  He  that  soweth  to  the 
flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption,  as 
certainly  as  he  who  sows  tares  shall  reap 
tares.  The  only  link  which  binds  together 
causes  and  effects  in  nature,  is  the  will  of 
God;  and  the  same  will,  no  less  clearly  re- 
vealed, connects  suffering  with  sin.  And  this 
is  a  connexion  absolutely  indissoluble  save  by 
the  mystery  of  redemption. 

To  suspend  the  operation  of  a  law  of  na- 
ture, (as  to  stop  the   sun  in  his  course,)  is 


SIN.  79 

merely  an  exercise  of  power.  But  to  save 
sinners  from  the  curse  of  the  law  required 
that  Christ  should  be  made  a  curse  for  us ; 
that  he  should  bear  our  sins  in  his  own  body 
on  the  tree ;  that  he  should  be  made  sin  for 
us  and  die  the  just  for  the  unjust.  It  would 
be  a  reflection  on  the  wisdom  of  God  to  sup- 
pose that  he  w^ould  employ  means  to  accom- 
plish an  end  more  costly  than  that  end  re- 
quired. Could  our  redemption  have  been 
effected  by  corruptible  things,  as  silver  or 
gold,  or  could  the  blood  of  bulls  or  of  goats 
have  taken  away  sin,  who  can  believe  that 
Christ  would  have  died  ?  The  apostle  clearly 
teaches  that  it  is  to  make  the  death  of  Christ 
vain,  to  afiir^m  that  our  salvation  could  have 
been  otherwise  secured.*  Since,  then,  in 
order  to  the  pardon  of  sin,  the  death  of  Christ 
was  necessary,  it  is  evident  that  the  evil  of 
sin  in  the  sight  of  God  must  be  estimated  by 
the  dignity  of  him  who  died  for  our  redemp- 
tion. Here  we  approach  the  most  mysterious 
and  awful  doctrine  of  the  Bible.  In  the  be- 
ginning was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  All 
things  were  made  by  him ;  and  without  him 
was  not  any  thing  made  that  was  made.     And 

*  Gal.  ii.  21. 


80  SIN. 

the  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us, 
and  we  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the 
only  begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and 
truth.*  God  therefore  was  manifested  in  the 
flesh.  He  who,  being  in  the  form  of  God, 
thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God ; 
made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon 
him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the 
likeness  of  men ;  and  being  found  in  fashion  as 
a  man,  he  humbled  himself,  and  became  obe- 
dient unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross,  f 
He  then — who  is  declared  to  be  the  bright- 
ness of  the  Father's  glory  and  the  express 
image  of  his  person,  upholding  all  things  by 
the  word  of  his  power ;  whom  all  the  angels 
are  commanded  to  worship;  of  whom  the 
Scriptures  say.  Thy  throne  O  God  is  for  ever 
and  ever.  Thou  Lord  in  the  beginning  hast 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth,  and  the  hea- 
vens are  the  work  of  thy  hands ;  they  shall 
perish,  but  thou  remainest;  they  shall  wax 
old  as  doth  a  garment ;  and  as  a  vesture  shalt 
thou  fold  them  up,  and  they  shall  be  changed, 
but  thou  art  the  same,  and  thy  years  shall  not 
fail — even  He,  who  is  God  over  all  and  blessed 
for  ever,  inasmuch  as  the  children  were  par- 
takers of  flesh  and  blood,  himself  also  took 

*Johni.  1,3,  14.  t  Phil.  ii.  6,7. 


SIN.  81 

part  of  the  same ;  that  through  death  he  might 
destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that 
is  the  Devil,  and  deliver  them  who  through 
fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to 
bondage. 

It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible  that  the  infi- 
nite and  eternal  Son  of  God  assumed  our  na- 
ture, that  he  might  redeem  us  from  the  curse 
of  the  law  by  being  made  a  curse  for  us.  It 
is  obvious  that  no  severity  of  mere  human 
suffering ;  no  destroying  deluge ;  no  final  con- 
flagration, not  hell  itself  can  present  such  a 
manifestation  of  the  evil  of  sin  and  of  the  jus- 
tice of  God  as  the  cross  of  his  incarnate  Son. 
It  declares  in  language  which  is  heard  by  the 
whole  intelligent  universe,  that  sin  deserves 
God's  wrath  and  curse,  and  that  none  who 
refuse  submission  to  the  appointed  method  of 
pardon,  can  escape  its  condemnation. 

The  penalty  then  which  God  has  attached 
to  the  violation  of  his  law,  the  certainty  with 
which  that  penalty  is  inflicted,  the  doom  of 
the  fallen  angels,  the  consequences  of  Adam's 
sin,  and  above  all  the  death  of  Christ,  are 
manifestations  of  the  evil  of  sin  in  the  estima- 
tion of  God,  which  it  is  the  highest  infatua- 
tion for  us  to  disregard. 

However  obdurate  our  hearts  may  be  in 


82  SIN. 

reference  to  this  subject,  our  reason  is  not  so 
blind  as  not  to  see  that  our  guilt  must  be  ex- 
ceedingly great.  We  cannot  deny  that  all 
the  circumstances  which  aggravate  the  hei- 
nousness  of  sin  concur  in  our  case.  The  law 
which  we  transgress  is  perfectly  good.  It  is 
the  law  of  God ;  the  law  of  right  and  reason. 
It  is  the  expression  of  the  highest  excellence ; 
it  is  suited  to  our  nature,  necessary  to  our 
perfection  and  happiness.  Opposition  to  such 
a  law  must  be  in  the  highest  degree  unrea- 
sonable and  wicked. 

This  law  is  enforced  not  only  by  its  own 
excellence  but  by  the  authority  of  God.  Dis- 
regard of  this  authority  is  the  greatest  crime 
of  which  a  creature  is  capable.  It  is  rebellion 
against  a  being  whose  right  to  command  is 
founded  on  his  infinite  superiority,  his  infinite 
goodness  and  his  absolute  propriety  in  us  as 
his  creatures.  It  is  apostacy  from  the  king- 
dom of  God  to  the  kingdom  of  Satan.  There 
is  no  middle  ground  between  the  two.  Every 
one  is  either  the  servant  of  God,  or  the  ser- 
vant of  the  devil.  Holiness  is  the  evidence 
of  our  allegiance  to  our  Maker,  sin  is  the  ser- 
vice of  Satan.  Could  we  form  any  adequate 
conception  of  these  two  kingdoms,  of  the  in- 
trinsic excellence  of  the  one  and  the  absolute 


SIN.  83 

evil  of  the  other,  of  the  blessedness  attendant 
on  the  one  and  the  misery  connected  with  the 
other;  could  we  in  short  bring  heaven  and 
hell  in  immediate  contrast,  we  might  have 
some  proper  view  of  the  guilt  of  this  apostacy 
from  God.  It  is  the  natural  tendency  of  our 
conduct  to  degrade  ourselves  and  others,  to 
make  Eden  like  Sodom,  and  to  kindle,  every 
where,  the  fire  that  never  shall  be  quenched. 
This  cannot  be  denied,  for  moral  evil  is  the 
greatest  of  all  evils  and  the  certain  cause  of 
all  others.  He  therefore  who  sins  is  not  only 
a  rebel  against  God,  but  a  malefactor,  an 
enemy  to  the  highest  good  of  his  fellow  crea- 
tures. 

Again,  our  guilt  is  great  because  our  sins 
are  exceedingly  numerous.  It  is  not  merely 
with  outward  acts  of  unkindness  and  dis- 
honesty that  we  are  chargeable ;  our  habitual 
and  characteristic  state  of  mind  is  evil  in  the 
sight  of  God.  Our  pride,  vanity,  indifference 
to  his  will  and  to  the  welfare  of  others,  our 
selfishness,  our  loving  the  creature  more  than 
the  Creator,  are  continuous  violations  of  his 
law.  We  have  never,  in  any  one  moment  of 
our  lives,  been  or  done  what  that  law  requires 
us  to  be  and  to  do.  We  have  never  had  that 
delight  in  the  divine  perfections,  that  sense  of 


84  SIN. 

dependence  and  obligation,  that  fixed  purpose 
to  do  the  will  and  promote  the  glory  of  God, 
which  constitute  the  love  which  is  our  first 
and  highest  duty.  It  is  in  this  sense  that 
mankind  are  said  to  be  totally  depraved. 
They  are  entirely  destitute  of  supreme  love  to 
God.  Whatever  else  they  may  have  is  as 
nothing  while  this  is  wanting.  They  may 
be  affectionate  fathers  or  kind  masters,  or  du- 
tiful sons  and  daughters,  but  they  are  not 
obedient  children  of  God ;  they  have  not  those 
feelings  towards  God  which  constitute  their 
first  and  greatest  duty,  and  without  which 
they  are  always  transgressors.  The  man  who 
is  a  rebel  against  his  righteous  sovereign,  and 
whose  heart  is  full  of  enmity  to  his  person 
and  government,  may  be  faithful  to  his  asso- 
ciates and  kind  to  his  dependents,  but  he  is 
always  and  increasingly  guilty  as  it  regards 
his  ruler.  Thus  we  are  always  sinners ;  we 
are  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances 
in  opposition  to  God,  because  we  are  never 
what  his  law  requires  us  to  be.  If  we  have 
never  loved  him  supremely ;  if  we  have  never 
made  it  our  governing  purpose  to  do  his  will ; 
if  we  have  never  been  properly  grateful  for 
all  his  mercies ;  if  we  have  never  made  his 
glory,  but  some  other  and  lower  object,  the 


SIN.  85 

end  of  our  actions ;  then  our  lives  have  been 
an  unbroken  series  of  transgressions.  Our 
sins  are  not  to  be  numbered  by  the  conscious 
violations  of  duty ;  they  are  as  numerous  as 
the  moments  of  our  existence. 

If  the  permanent  moral  dispositions  of  a 
man  are  evil,  it  must  follow  that  his  acts  of 
transgression  will  be  past  counting  up .  E  very 
hour  there  is  some  work  of  evil,  some  wrong 
thought,  some  bad  feeling,  some  improper 
w^ord,  or  some  wicked  act,  to  add  to  the  num- 
ber of  his  offences.  The  evil  exercise  of  an 
evil  heart  is  like  the  ceaseless  swinging  of 
the  pendulum.  The  slightest  review  of  life 
therefore  is  sufficient  to  overwhelm  us  with 
the  conviction  of  the  countless  multitude  of 
our  transgressions.  It  is  this  which  consti- 
tutes our  exceeding  sinfulness  in  the  sight  of 
God.  While  conscience  sleeps,  or  our  atten- 
tion is  directed  to  other  subjects,  the  number 
of  our  transgressions  grows  like  the  unnoticed 
pulsations  of  our  heart.  It  is  not  until  we 
pause  and  call  ourselves  to  an  account,  that 
we  see  how  many  feelings  have  been  wrong ; 
how  great  is  the  distance  at  which  we  habitu- 
ally live  from  God,  and  how  constant  is  our 
want  of  conformity  to  his  will.  It  was  this 
that  forced  the  Psalmist  to  cry,  Mine  iniqui- 
8 


86  SIN. 

ties  have  taken  hold  upon  me,  so  that  I  am 
not  able  to  look  up,  they  are  more  than  the 
hairs  of  my  head,  therefore  my  heart  faileth 
me. 

Again,  we  may  jndge  of  the  greatness  of 
our  guilt  before  God,  by  considering  the  nu- 
merous restraints  of  his  truth,  providence  and 
Spirit,  v^hich  v^e  habitually  disregard.  The 
simple  fact  that  sin  is  v^rong,  that  conscience 
condemns  it,  is  a  constant  and  powerful  re- 
straint. We  cannot  avail  ourselves  of  the 
plea  of  ignorance,  as  we  have  a  perfect  stand- 
ard of  duty  in  the  law  of  God.  We  cannot 
resist  the  conviction  that  his  commands  are 
righteous,  yet,  in  despite  of  this  conviction, 
we  live  in  constant  disobedience. 

We  are,  moreover,  fully  aware  of  the  con- 
sequences of  sin.  We  know  the  judgment  of 
God,  that  those  who  do  such  things  are  wor- 
thy of  death,  and  yet  continue  our  transgres- 
sions. We  are  surprised  at  the  drunkard 
who  indulges  his  fatal  passion  in  the  very 
presence  of  ruin;  yet  are  blind  to  our  own 
infatuation  in  continuing  to  disobey  God  in 
despite  of  threatened  death.  We  stupidly 
disregard  the  certain  consequences  of  our 
conduct,  and  awake  only  in  time  to  see  that 
madness  is  in  our  hearts.     This  insensibility, 


SIN.  87 

notwithstanding  the  occasional  admonitions 
of  conscience  and  the  constant  warning  of  the 
word  of  God,  constitutes  a  peculiar  aggrava- 
tion of  our  guilt. 

Nor  are  we  more  mindful  of  the  restrain- 
ing influence  of  the  love  of  God.  We  disre- 
gard the  fact  that  the  Being  against  whom 
we  sin,  is  He  to  whom  we  owe  our  existence 
and  all  our  enjoyments ;  who  has  carried  us 
in  his  arms,  and  crowned  us  with  loving 
kindness  and  tender  mercies ;  who  is  merci- 
ful and  gracious,  slow  to  anger  and  plenteous 
in  mercy;  who  has  not  dealt  with  us  after 
our  sins,  nor  rewarded  us  according  to  our 
iniquities,  but  has  borne  with  our  provoca- 
tions, waiting  that  his  goodness  might  lead 
us  to  repentance.  We  have  despised  his  for- 
bearance, deriving  from  it  a  motive  to  sin,  as 
though  he  were  slack  concerning  his  pro- 
mises, and  would  not  accomplish  his  threat- 
enings;  thus  treasuring  up  for  ourselves 
wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  and  revela- 
tion of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God.  Be- 
sides all  this,  we  disregard  the  love  of  Christ. 
He  came  to  save  us  from  our  sins,  and  we 
will  not  accept  of  his  mediation,  or  recipro- 
cate his  love.  There  stands  his  cross,  mutely 
eloquent ;  at  once  an  invitation  and  a  warn- 


88  SIN. 

ing.  It  tells  us  both  of  the  love  and  justice 
of  God.  It  assures  us,  that  he  who  spared 
not  his  own  Son,  is  ready  to  be  gracious.  All 
this  we  disregard.  We  count  the  blood  of 
the  covenant  an  unholy  thing ;  we  act  as  if  it 
were  not  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  shed 
for  us  for  the  remission  of  sins.  Or,  it  may 
be,  we  turn  the  grace  of  God  into  licentious- 
ness, and  draw  encouragement  from  the  death 
of  Christ  to  continue  in  sin.  This  unbeliev- 
ing rejection  of  the  Saviour  involves  guilt  so 
peculiarly  great,  that  it  is  often  spoken  of  as 
the  special  ground  of  the  condemnation  of 
the  world.  He  that  belie veth  not  is  con- 
demned already,  because  he  hath  not  believed 
on  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God.  When  he, 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  shall  convince 
the  world  of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  in 
Christ.  If  he  that  despised  Moses'  law  died 
without  mercy,  under  two  or  three  witnesses, 
of  how  much  sorer  punishment  shall  he  be 
thought  worthy,  who  hath  trodden  under  foot 
the  Son  of  God ! 

This  great  sin  of  rejecting  Jesus  Christ  as 
a  Saviour,  it  must  be  remembered,  is  an  often 
repeated  and  long  continued  sin.  It  is  also 
one  which  is  chargeable  not  on  the  openly 
wicked   merely,  but  upon  those  whom  the 


SIN.  89 

world  calls  moral.  They  too  resist  the  claims 
of  the  Son  of  God ;  they  too  refuse  his  love 
and  reject  his  offers.  It  was  when  all  other 
messengers  had  failed,  the  Lord  of  the  vine- 
yard sent  his  Son  to  his  disobedient  servants, 
saying,  They  will  reverence  my  Son.  The 
guilt  of  thus  rejecting  Christ,  will  never  be 
fully  appreciated  until  the  day  when  He  shall 
sit  on  the  throne,  and  from  his  face  the  earth 
and  heaven  shall  flee  away,  and  no  place  be 
found  for  them. 

Besides  these  restraints  from  without,  we 
resist  the  still  more  powerful  influence  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  That  Spirit  strives  with  all 
men;  suggesting  truth  and  exciting  con- 
science, expostulating  and  warning,  and 
drawing  men  from  sin  to  God.  It  is  from 
Him  that  all  good  thoughts  and  right  pur- 
poses do  proceed.  This  Spirit  we  quench ; 
we  resist  his  gracious  influences,  not  once  or 
twice,  but  a  thousand  times.  Though  he 
will  not  always  strive  with  men,  he  strives 
long,  and  returns  after  many  insulting  rejec- 
tions, repeating  the  warnings  and  invitations 
of  mercy.  All  men  are  sensible  of  this  divine 
influence,  though  they  may  not  be  aware  of 
its  origin.  They  know  not  whence  proceed 
the  serious  thoughts,  the  anxious  forebodings, 
8* 


90  SIN. 

the  convictions  of  truth,  the  sense  of  the 
emptiness  of  the  world,  the  longing  after  se- 
curity and  peace  of  which  they  are  conscious. 
God  sends  these  admonitions  even  to  those 
who  are  most  contented  with  the  world  and 
most  happy  in  their  estrangement  from  him- 
self. He  leaves  no  man  without  a  witness 
and  a  warning.  These  strivings  of  the  Spirit 
are  not  only  frequent,  but  often  urgent. 
Almost  every  man  can  look  back  and  find 
many  instances  in  which  an  unseen  hand 
was  upon  him,  when  a  voice,  not  from  man, 
has  sounded  in  his  ears,  when  feelings  to 
which  he  was  before  a  stranger,  were  awa- 
kened in  his  breast,  and  when  he  felt  the 
power  of  the  world  to  come.  The  shadow  of 
the  Almighty  has  passed  over  him,  and  pro- 
duced the  conviction  that  God  is,  and  that 
He  is,  an  avenger. 

From  a  review  of  what  has  been  said,  it  is 
plain  that  the  Scriptures  teach  not  only  that 
all  men  are  sinners,  but  that  their  corruption 
is  radical,  seated  in  their  hearts,  and  that  it  is 
exceedingly  great.  The  severity  of  the  pe- 
nalty which  God  has  attached  to  transgres- 
sion, the  certainty  of  its  infliction,  the  costli- 
ness of  the  sacrifice  by  which  alone  its  pardon 
could  be  obtained,  are  all  proofs  of  the  evil  of 


SIN.  91 

sin  in  the  sight  of  God.  The  greatness  of 
our  personal  guilt  is  plain  from  the  excel- 
lence of  the  law  which  we  have  violated; 
from  the  authority  and  goodness  of  the  Being 
whom  we  have  offended,  from  the  number  of 
our  sins,  and  from  the  powerful  restraints 
which  we  have  disregarded. 


.1^|V\ 


CHAPTER  IIL 

CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE  TO  THE  CHARGE 
OF  SIN. 

Section  I.  Sin^  want  of  consideration^ 
striving  against  the  Spirit. 

The  charge  of  sin  is  brought  so  directly  in 
the  word  of  God  against  every  human  being, 
and  is  so  fully  sustained  by  observation  and 
experience,  that  the  general  indifference  of 
men  under  so  weighty  an  accusation,  is  a  fact 
which  needs  explanation.  Indifference  is  no 
proof  of  innocence,  any  more  than  insensi- 
bility to  pain  is  a  proof  of  health.  In  ordi- 
nary cases  indeed,  a  man  cannot  be  ill  with- 
out knowing  it,  but  his  sensations  are  a  very 
unsafe  criterion  of  the  nature  or  danger  of  his 
disease.  He  may  be  most  free  from  pain, 
when  most  in  peril.  In  like  manner,  the  in- 
difference of  men  to  their  own  sinfulness 
affords  no  presumption  that  their  guilt  is  not 
great  in  the  sight  of  God.  The  absence  of 
the  immediate  consciousness  of  guilt  is  no 


INDIFFERENCE   TO  SIN.  93 

proof  of  innocence,  unless  attended  by  the 
joyful  exercise  of  all  right  feelings.  When 
accompanied  by  indifference  to  duty  and  the 
indulgence  of  sin,  it  is  the  evidence  of  the 
depth  of  our  depravity.  All  men  assume  this 
to  be  true  in  their  judgments  of  those  more 
wicked  than  themselves.  To  say  of  a  man, 
he  is  a  hardened  wretch,  is  not  the  language 
of  extenuation  or  apology.  It  is  the  language 
of  aggravated  condemnation.  Those  who 
feel  thus  keenly  with  regard  to  others,  that 
indifference  is  an  aggravation  of  guilt, 
strangely  imagine  it  to  be,  in  their  own  case, 
a  proof  of  comparative  innocence. 

This  insensibility  of  men,  therefore,  to  the 
moral  turpitude  of  their  character  in  the  sight 
of  God,  so  far  from  being  an  indication  of 
goodness,  is  the  result  and  evidence  of  the 
extent  of  their  corruption.  As  in  bodily 
disease  when  the  seat  of  life  is  attacked,  the 
sensibilities  are  weakened,  so  in  the  disease 
of  sin,  insensibility  is  one  of  its  symptoms, 
and  increases  with  the  increase  of  the  evil. 
Sin  produces  this  effect  both  by  blinding  the 
mind  and  by  hardening  the  heart.  It  ob- 
scures our  apprehensions  of  the  excellence  of 
God  and  of  his  law,  and  it  produces  a  callous- 
ness of  feeling,  so  that  what  is  seen  is  not  re- 


94  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

garded.  Experience  teaches  us  that  a  mere 
change  in  the  state  of  the  mind,  produces  an 
immediate  and  entire  change  in  our  appre- 
hensions and  feelings  in  reference  to  our  own 
sins.  The  man  who  at  one  hour  was  indif- 
ferent as  the  most  careless,  at  the  next,  is 
filled  with  astonishment  and  remorse.  Others 
think  his  feelings  unreasonable  and  exagge- 
rated ;  he  knows  them  to  be  rational  and  even 
inadequate.  This  is  not  the  result  of  any 
hallucination  or  mistaken  apprehensions  of 
God  or  of  his  own  character.  It  is  the  natu- 
ral effect  of  an  enlightened  mind  and  of  an 
awakened  conscience.  The  ease  and  fre- 
quency with  which  the  indifference  of  men 
to  their  guilt  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  destroy- 
ed, is  of  itself  a  proof  that  their  insensibility 
is  not  based  upon  truth ;  that  it  is  the  effect 
of  a  darkened  understanding  and  a  hardened 
heart,  and  that  though  it  may  increase  as  sin 
gains  the  ascendency,  it  vanishes  the  moment 
the  light  and  power  of  truth  are  let  in  upon 
the  soul. 

Besides  this  general  cause  of  the  indiffer- 
ence of  men  to  the  declarations  of  God  re- 
garding their  sinfulness,  there  are  others 
which  ought  to  be  specified.  When  the  pro- 
phet contemplated  the  impenitent  unconcern 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  95 

of  the  people,  he  exclaimed,  Israel  doth  not 
know,  my  people  do  not  consider.  And 
when  God  would  rouse  them  to  a  sense  of 
their  guilt,  he  says,  Now  therefore  thus  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  consider  your  ways.  It  is 
this  want  of  consideration,  more  than  any  dif- 
ficulty in  arriving  at  the  truth,  which  sets 
men  in  such  opposition  to  God  in  their  judg- 
ments of  themselves,  and  which  hardens  them 
in  their  indifference.  This  inconsideration 
indeed  is  but  an  effect  of  the  more  general 
cause  already  referred  to,  but  it  becomes  in 
its  turn  a  cause  both  of  ignorance  and  uncon- 
cern. Men  learn  little  upon  any  subject  by 
intuition,  and  the  knowledge  of  their  own 
hearts  is  not  to  be  obtained  without  painful 
self-examination.  This  self-knowledge  is  the 
subject  to  which  men  generally  devote  the 
least  attention.  They  are  engrossed  by  the 
cares  or  pleasures  of  the  world.  They  either 
float  quietly  down  the  stream  of  life,  or  are 
hurried  along  its  troubled  course,  with  scarce- 
ly an  hour  given  to  serious  reflection.  That 
under  such  circumstances  men  should  be 
ignorant  of  themselves  and  indifferent  to 
their  character  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  not 
only  natural  but  unavoidable.  It  is  however 
a  lamentable  thing  that  they  should  make  a 


96  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

judgment  of  themselves  formed  without  con- 
sideration, the  ground  of  their  conduct,  and 
confide  in  it  in  opposition  to  the  judgment  of 
God.  If  they  will  judge,  let  them  at  least 
consider.  If  they  will  act  on  their  own  con- 
clusions respecting  themselves,  let  them  at 
least  examine  and  decide  deliberately,  and 
not  venture  every  thing  on  a  hasty,  uncon- 
sidered estimate  of  their  character,  w^hich,  it 
may  be,  could  not,  even  in  their  own  judg- 
ment, stand  a  moment's  inspection. 

Men,  however,  are  not  merely  inconsider- 
ate, they  often  make  direct  efforts  to  suppress 
the  rising  conviction  of  guilt  and  danger. 
The  testimony  of  God  against  them  is  so 
plain ;  the  authority  of  his  law  is  so  obvious ; 
*  their  want  of  conformity  to  it  is  so  glaring, 
and  the  influences  of  the  Spirit  are  so  gene- 
ral and  frequent,  that  the  conviction  of  sin 
can  hardly  fail  to  obtrude  itself  even  upon 
those  who  in  general  are  the  most  unconcern- 
ed. It  is,  however,  a  painful  conviction,  and 
therefore,  instead  of  being  cherished,  it  is  dis- 
regarded or  suppressed.  The  mind  refuses 
to  dwell  upon  the  subject,  or  to  examine  the 
evidence  of  guilt,  but  either  turns  to  other 
objects,  or,  by  some  act  of  levity  or  transgres- 
sion,  grieves  away  the    Spirit  of  God  and 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  97 

hardens  itself  in  unconcern.  This  is  a  fre- 
quently recurring  experience  in  the  history 
of  most  men.  They  have  more  anxious 
thoughts  than  they  allow  their  most  intimate 
friends  to  suspect.  They  often  mask  an  ach- 
ing heart  with  a  smiling  face.  They  have  a 
quick  foresight  of  what  such  feelings  must 
lead  to,  if  cherished.  They  see,  at  once,  that 
they  cannot  cultivate  such  sentiments,  and 
live  as  they  have  been  accustomed  to  do. 
There  are  pleasures,  and  it  may  be  sins, 
which  must  be  abandoned.  There  are  com- 
panions who  must  be  avoided.  There  is  the 
opposition  of  friends,  the  ridicule  of  asso- 
ciates, the  loss  of  rank,  to  be  encountered. 
All  the  horrors  of  a  religious  life  present 
themselves  to  the  imagination,  and  frighten 
the  half  awakened  from  considering  their 
ways,  which  they  know  to  be  but  the  first 
step  in  what  appears  a  long  and  painful  jour- 
ney. They  therefore  struggle  against  their 
convictions,  and  in  general  master  them. 
This  struggle  is  sometimes  short ;  at  others, 
it  is  protracted  and  painful.  Victory  how- 
ever comes  at  last,  and  the  soul  regains  its 
wonted  unconcern.  Such  persons  little  know 
what  they  are  doing.  They  little  suspect 
that  they  are  struggling  to  elude  the  grasp  of 
9 


98  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

mercy;  that  they  are  striving  against  the 
Spirit  of  God,  who  would  draw  them  from 
the  paths  of  destruction,  and  guide  them  into 
the  way  of  life. 

Section  II.     Sophistical  objections  against 
the  doctrines  of  the  Bible. 

Another  cause  of  the  indifference  of  men 
may  be  found  in  the  objections  which  they 
urge  against  the  truth.  Such  objections  in- 
deed are  more  frequently  and  effectually 
urged  to  perplex  the  advocates  of  religion, 
than  to  quiet  the  uneasiness  of  conscience. 
Still  men  endeavour  to  impose  upon  them- 
selves as  well  as  to  embarrass  others.  And 
the  objections  referred  to,  doubtless  are  often 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  inquirer^  or 
opiates  to  the  consciences  of  those  who  de- 
sire to  be  deceived.  It  is  objected  that  we 
are  what  God  made  us ;  that  our  character  is 
determined  either  by  our  original  constitu- 
tion, or  by  the  circumstances  in  which  we 
are  placed,  and  therefore  we  cannot  be  re- 
sponsible for  it ;  that  inasmuch  as  neither  our 
belief  nor  our  affections  are  under  the  control 
of  the  will,  we  cannot  be  accountable  for 
either ;  that  it  is  useless  to  use  means  to  es- 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  99 

C£^pe  the  judgment  of  God,  since  what  is  to 
be,  will  be ;  that  we  must  wait  till  God  sees 
fit  to  change  our  hearts,  since  it  is  declared 
in  Scripture  to  be  his  work. 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  and  similar 
objections  relate  to  the  reconciliation  of  differ- 
ent truths,  and  not  to  their  separate  validity 
or  evidence.  The  proposition  that  men  are 
responsible  for  their  moral  character,  taken 
by  itself,  is  so  capable  of  demonstration,  that 
all  men  do  in  fact  believe  it.  Every  man 
feels  it  to  be  true  with  regard  to  himself,  and 
knows  it  to  be  true  with  regard  to  others. 
All  self-condemnation  and  self-approbation 
rest  on  the  consciousness  of  this  truth.  All 
our  judgments  regarding  the  moral  conduct 
of  others  are  founded  on  the  same  assump- 
tion. It  is,  therefore,  one  of  those  truths 
which  is  included  in  the  universal  conscious- 
ness of  men,  and  has  in  all  ages  and  nations 
been  assumed  as  certain.  Men  cannot  really 
doubt  it,  if  they  would.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  no  less  certain  that  our  character  does 
depend  in  a  measure  upon  circumstances  be- 
yond our  control ;  upon  our  original  constitu- 
tion, upon  education,  upon  prevalent  habits 
and  opinions;  upon  divine  influence,  &c. 
All  this  is  proved  by  experience  and  observa- 


100  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

tion.  Here  then  are  two  facts  resting  on  in- 
dependent evidence,  each  certain  and  each 
by  itself  securing  general  assent.  Yet  we 
see  men  constantly  disposed  to  bring  up  the 
one  against  the  other ;  and  argue  against  their 
responsibility,  because  they  are  dependent, 
or  against  their  dependence,  because  they  are 
responsible. 

In  like  manner  the  proposition  that  man  is 
a  free  agent,  commands  immediate  and  uni- 
versal assent,  because  it  is  an  ultimate  fact  of 
consciousness.  It  can  no  more  be  doubted 
than  we  can  doubt  our  own  existence.  Side 
by  side  however  with  this  intimate  persua- 
sion of  our  moral  liberty,  lies  the  conviction, 
no  less  intimate,  of  our  inability  to  change, 
by  merely  willing  to  do  so,  either  our  belief 
or  our  affections,  for  which,  as  before  stated, 
every  man  knows  himself  to  be  responsible. 
Perhaps  few  men, — perhaps  no  man, — can 
see  the  harmony  of  these  truths ;  yet  they  are 
truths,  and  as  such  are  practically  acknow- 
ledged by  all  men. 

Again,  all  experience  teaches  us  that  we 
live  in  a  world  of  means,  that  knowledge,  re- 
ligion, happiness,  are  all  to  be  sought  in  a 
certain  way,  and  that  to  neglect  the  means  is 
to  lose  the  end.     It  is,  however,  no  less  true 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  101 

that  there  is  no  necessary  or  certain  connec- 
tion between  the  means  and  the  end;  that 
God  holds  the  result  in  his  own  hands  and 
decides  the  issues  according  to  his  sovereign 
pleasure.  In  all  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life 
men  submit  to  this  arrangement  and  do  not 
hesitate  to  use  means,  though  the  end  is  un- 
certain and  beyond  their  control.  But  in  re- 
ligion, they  think  this  uncertainty  of  the  re- 
sult a  sufficient  excuse  for  neglect. 

It  is  obvious  that  this  method  of  reasoning, 
or  rather  of  cavilling,  which  consists  in  bring- 
ing up  one  well  established  truth  against  an- 
other, is  unworthy  of  a  rational  being.  We 
ought  to  (and  practically,  we  must)  receive 
every  truth  on  its  own  evidence.  If  we  can- 
not reconcile  one  fact  with  another,  it  is  be- 
cause of  our  ignorance ;  better  instructed  men 
or  higher  orders  of  beings  may  see  their  per- 
fect harmony.  Our  want  of  such  knowledge 
does  not  in  the  least  impair  the  force  of  the 
evidence  on  which  they  separately  rest.  In 
every  department  of  knowledge  the  number 
of  irreconcileable  truths  depends  on  the  pro- 
gress of  the  student.  That  loose  matter  flies 
off  from  revolving  bodies,  and  that  every 
thing  adheres  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  not- 
withstanding its  rapid  revolution,  are  irrecon- 
9* 


102  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

cileable  facts  to  one  man,  though  not^  to  an- 
other. That  two  rays  of  light  should  pro- 
duce darkness,  or  two  sounds  cause  silence, 
are  facts  which  many  may  be  entirely  unable 
to  reconcile  with  other  facts  of  which  they 
are  certain,  while  the  philosopher  sees  not 
only  their  consistency,  but  that  they  are  the 
necessary  consequences  of  the  same  cause. 

If  the  evidence  of  the  constant  revolution 
of  the  earth  round  its  axis  were  presented  to 
a  man,  it  would  certainly  be  unreasonable  in 
him  to  deny  the  fact,  merely  because  he  could 
not  reconcile  it  with  the  stability  of  every 
thing  on  the  earth's  surface.  Or  if  he  saw 
two  rays  of  light  made  to  produce  darkness, 
must  he  resist  the  evidence  of  his  senses  be- 
cause he  knows  that  two  candles  give  more 
light  than  one  ?  Men  do  not  commonly  act 
thus  irrationally  in  physical  investigations. 
They  let  each  fact  stand  on  its  own  evidence. 
They  strive  to  reconcile  them,  and  are  happy 
when  they  succeed.  But  they  do  not  get  rid 
of  difficulties  by  denying  facts. 

If  in  the  department  of  physical  knowledge 
we  are  obliged  to  act  upon  the  principle  of 
receiving  every  fact  upon  its  own  evidence, 
even  when  unable  to  reconcile  one  with  an- 
other, it  is  not  wonderful  that  this  necessity 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  103 

should  be  imposed  upon  us  in  those  depart- 
ments of  knowledge,  which  are  less  within 
the  limits  of  our  powers.  It  is  certainly  irra- 
tional for  a  man  to  reject  all  the  evidence  of 
the  spirituality  of  the  soul,  because  he  cannot 
reconcile  with  that  doctrine  the  fact  that  a 
disease  of  the  body  disorders  the  mind.  Must 
I  do  violence  to  my  nature  in  denying  the 
proof  of  design  afforded  by  the  human  body, 
because  I  cannot  account  for  the  occasional 
occurrence  of  deformities  of  structure  ?  Must 
I  harden  my  heart  against  all  the  evidence  of 
the  benevolence  of  God,  which  streams  upon 
me  in  a  flood  of  light  from  all  his  works,  be- 
cause I  may  not  know  how  to  reconcile  that 
benevolence  with  the  existence  of  evil  ?  Must 
I  deny  my  free  agency,  the  most  intimate  of 
all  convictions,  because  I  cannot  see  the  con- 
sistency between  the  freeness  of  an  act  and 
the  certainty  of  its  occurrence  ?  Must  I  deny 
that  I  am  a  moral  being,  the  very  glory  of  my 
nature,  because  I  cannot  change  my  charac- 
ter at  will  ? 

It  is  impossible  for  any  man  to  act,  in  any 
department  of  knowledge,  upon  the  principle, 
on  which  these  cavilling  objections  to  religion 
are  founded.  From  youth  to  age  we  are 
obliged  to  take  each  fact  as  it  comes,  upon  its 


104  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

own  evidence,  and   reconcile  it  with  other 
facts,  as  best  we  may. 

The  unreasonableness  of  this  method  of 
arguing  is  further  evident  from  the  considera- 
tion that  if  it  were  universally  adopted  it 
would  render  all  progress  in  knowledge  im- 
possible. It  would  be  tantamount  to  a  reso- 
lution to  know  nothing  until  we  know  all 
things  ;♦  for  our  knowledge  at  first  is  confined 
to  isolated  facts.  To  classify  and  harmonize 
these  facts,  is  the  slow  work  of  the  student's 
life.  This  is  a  most  benevolent  arrangement 
of  providence.  It  at  once  stimulates  the  de- 
sire of  knowledge  and  imposes  on  us  the  con- 
stant exercise  of  faith.  And  it  is  in  virtue  of 
these  two  important  principles  of  our  nature 
that  all  valuable  knowledge  is  obtained. 
The  desire  of  knowing  not  merely  facts,  but 
their  relations  and  harmony,  leads  to  the  con- 
stant effort  to  increase  the  number  of  known 
truths  and  to  obtain  an  insight  into  their  na- 
ture ;  and  the  necessity  we  are  under  of  be- 
lieving what  we  cannot  understand,  or  cannot 
reconcile,  cultivates  the  habit  of  faith ;  of  faith 
in  evidence,  faith  in  the  laws  of  our  nature, 
faith  in  God.  It  is  thus  our  heavenly  Father 
leads  us  along  the  paths  of  knowledge ;  and 
he  who  refuses  to  be  thus  led,  must  remain 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  105 

in  ignorance.  God  deals  with  us  as  chil- 
dren ;  though  as  rational  children.  He  does 
not  require  us  to  believe  without  evidence ; 
but  he  does  require  us  to  believe  what  we 
cannot  understand,  and  what  we  cannot  re- 
concile with  other  parts  of  knowledge.  This 
necessity  of  implicit  faith  is  not  confined  to 
any  one  department  of  knowledge,  but  as 
already  stated,  is  constantly  demanded  with 
regard  to  all.  The  simplest  objects  in  the 
physical  world  are  surrounded  with  myste- 
ries. A  blade  of  grass  has  wonders  about  it 
which  no  philosopher  can  clear  up ;  no  man 
can  tell  what  fixes  the  type  of  each  species 
of  plant  or  animal ;  by  what  process  the  ma- 
terials of  leaf  and  flower  are  selected  and  ar- 
ranged ;  whence  the  beautiful  tints  are  bor- 
rowed or  how  applied;  what  conducts  the 
silent  process  of  formation  of  the  eye  or  hand. 
Every  thing  we  see  is,  even  to  the  most  en- 
lightened, the  index  of  something  unknown 
and  inscrutable. 

If  the  visible  and  tangible  forms  of  matter 
are  replete  with  things  past  finding  out,  what 
may  we  expect  when  we  turn  our  eyes  on  the 
world  of  spirits?  Even  that  little  world  in 
our  own  bosoms  which  is  pervaded  by  our 
own  consciousness,  the  facts  of  which   are 


106  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

most  intimately  known,  is  full  of  wonders; 
of  phenomena  which  we  can  neither  compre- 
hend nor  reconcile.  Who  can  understand 
the  secret  union  of  the  soul  and  body,  which 
establishes  their  reciprocal  influence  ?  Why 
should  the  emotion  of  shame  suffuse  the 
cheek,  or  that  of  fear  send  the  blood  to  the 
heart  ?  Why  does  the  soul  suffer  if  the  body 
be  injured?  What  conception  can  we  form 
either  of  matter  or  mind  which  is  consistent 
with  their  mutual  influence  and  communion  ? 
The  operations  of  our  rational  and  moral 
faculties  are  not  less  beyond  our  comprehen- 
sion. We  know  certain  facts,  but  the  reason 
of  them,  or  their  consistency  we  cannot  un- 
derstand. We  know  that  certain  feelings  fol- 
low certain  perceptions ;  the  feeling  of  confi- 
dence the  perception  of  truth ;  the  feeling  of 
pleasure  the  perception  of  beauty;  the  feel- 
ing of  approbation  the  perception  of  what  is 
morally  right.  Why  these  feelings  should 
thus  rise  no  one  can  tell.  Such  are  the  laws 
of  our  being ;  laws  which  we  did  not  origi- 
nate and  which  we  cannot  control.  That  is, 
we  cannot  prevent  the  feeling  of  confidence 
or  faith,  attending  the  perception  of  truth, 
nor  that  of  pleasure,  the  perception  of  beauty, 
nor  that  of  approbation,  the  perception  of 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  107 

moral  rectitude.  Yet  the  consciousness  of 
self-agency  mingles  with  all  these  operations. 
We  are  free  in  being  subject  to  the  laws  of 
our  own  nature.  The  necessity  under  which 
we  form  such  judgments  or  exercise  such 
feelings  produces  no  sense  of  bondage.  In 
these  involuntary  or  necessary  judgments  or 
feelings,  however,  our  moral  character  is 
largely  concerned.  If  two  men  see  an  act  of 
cruelty,  and  the  one  smiles  at  it,  and  the 
other  is  indignant,  no  sophistry  can  prevent 
our  condemning  the  former  and  approving 
the  latter.  The  feeling  excited  by  the  act 
arises  in  each,  spontaneously,  and  by  an  in- 
ward necessity  which  neither,  at  the  moment, 
can  control.  The  knowledge  of  this  fact  does 
not  interfere  with  our  judgment  in  the  case. 
And  that  judgment  is  not  merely  that  the 
feeling  which  produced  the  smile,  is  an  indi- 
cation of  a  state  of  mind,  or  of  previous  con- 
duct worthy  of  disapprobation,  but  that  the 
feeling  itself  was  wrong.  Moreover  the  feel- 
ing of  disapprobation  which  arises  thus  spon- 
taneously in  our  bosoms,  at  this  delight  in 
suffering,  is  itself  a  moral  feeling.  We  should 
condemn  ourselves  if  it  did  not  arise,  we 
approve  ourselves  because  of  it.  There  are 
therefore,  in  our  own  breasts,  enigmas  which 


108  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

we  cannot  solve,  depths  which  we  cannot 
fathom.  Must  we  then,  in  order  to  be  ra- 
tional, deny  these  facts  ?  Must  we  maintain 
that  our  nature  is  an  illusion  and  our  consti- 
tution a  falsehood?  Shall  we,  on  the  one 
hand,  deny  that  we  are  subject  to  the  laws  of 
our  being,  or,  on  the  other,  that  the  acts  which 
result  from  those  laws  are  not  our  own,  do 
not  express  our  character  nor  involve  respon- 
sibility? This  happily  cannot  be  done,  for 
faith  in  our  own  consciousness  is  one  of  the 
laws  of  our  nature  from  which  we  can  never 
effectually  emancipate  ourselves. 

If  then  there  are  in  our  own  nature  so 
many  things  which  we  cannot  comprehend, 
how  can  we  expect  to  understand  God,  to 
know  the  reasons  and  relations  of  his  acts,  or 
to  be  able  to  reconcile,  in  all  cases,  his  works 
with  his  attributes?  To  do  this  would  re- 
quire a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  God 
than  we  have  of  ourselves.  It  would  require 
a  comprehension  of  his  purposes  and  of  the 
mode  in  which  he  accomplishes  them.  It 
would  require  in  short  a  knowledge  which 
no  creature  can  possess.  For  what  man 
knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the  spirit 
of  man  that  is  in  him?  Even  so  the  things 
of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  109 

God.  We  then,  who  are  the  least  and  lowest 
of  God's  rational  creatures,  may  well  expect 
to  be  required  to  live  by  faith ;  to  receive,  as 
true,  on  his  authority,  much  that  we  cannot 
understand  and  cannot  reconcile.  It  is  not 
however  blind  belief  which  is  required  of  us. 
We  are  not  required  to  believe  any  thing 
without  adequate  proof;  but  on  the  other 
hand  we  are  not  allowed  to  reject  any  thing 
simply  because  we  cannot  understand  it. 
We  must  not  reject  the  existence  of  God,  be- 
cause we  cannot  comprehend  self-existence; 
we  must  not  deny  his  eternity,  because  we 
cannot  conceive  of  duration  without  succes- 
sion, nor  his  omnipresence,  because  we  can- 
not see  how  a  being  can  be  equally  and  en- 
tirely in  all  places  at  the  same  time;  nor 
omniscience,  because  we  cannot  see  how  free 
acts  can  be  foreknown.  In  like  manner  we 
are  not  required  to  believe  in  God's  goodness 
without  abundant  evidence  of  his  benevo- 
lence; but  we  are  required  to  believe  it, 
whether  we  can  reconcile  it  with  the  exist- 
ence of  evil  or  not.  We  are  not  required  to 
believe  in  the  providence  of  God  without 
evidence,  but  our  being  unable  to  reconcile 
his  government  with  our  liberty,  is  no  ra- 
tional ground  of  unbelief.  The  same  remark 
10 


110  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

might  be  made  with  regard  to  the  apostacy 
of  our  race  and  the  corruption  of  our  nature ; 
our  inability  and  obligation  to  obedience ;  the 
necessity  of  divine  influence  and  the  use  of 
means.  We  are  required  to  believe  nothing 
on  these  or  any  other,  subjects  without  ade- 
quate proof,  but  we  are  not  allowed  to  make 
our  ignorance  of  the  relations  of  these  truths 
an  excuse  for  either  unbelief  or  disobedience. 
God  gives  to  the  glow  worm  light  enough  to 
see  its  own  path,  though  not  enough  to  dispel 
the  darkness  of  the  night.  Thus  too  he 
shows  us  where  to  put  our  foot  down  in  each 
successive  step  towards  heaven,  though  he 
may  not  enable  us  to  comprehend  the  Al- 
mighty unto  perfection. 

It  may  be  said  that  we  have  not  answered 
one  of  all  the  objections  to  which  reference 
has  so  often  been  made.  We  have  done  far 
better  than  answer  them,  if  we  have  made 
the  reader  feel  the  necessity  of  an  humble, 
trustful  spirit  towards  God.  This  is  the 
appropriate  state  of  mind  for  every  learner, 
whether  in  the  school  of  nature  or  of  Christ. 
It  is  that  state  which  the  feebleness  of  our 
powers  and  the  difficulty  of  the  things  to  be 
learned,  render  not  only  reasonable  but  indis- 
pensable.    A   second   impression  which  we 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  Ill 

have  laboured  to  produce  is,  that  it  is  one  of 
our  primary  duties  to  submit  to  the  truth,  to 
form  the  purpose  and  to  cherish  the  habit  of 
yielding  the  mind  to  evidence.  Faith  v^ith- 
out  evidence  is  irrational;  but  unbelief  in 
despite  of  evidence  is  not  less  so.  There  is 
a  great  difference,  in  the  temper  of  different 
men  in  Telation  to  this  subject.  Some  resist 
the  truth  as  long  as  they  can ;  they  cavil  at 
it  and  oppose  it.  Others  are  candid  and 
docile ;  they  are  v^illing  to  admit  the  force  of 
proof  as  far  as  they  perceive  it.  This  is  the 
only  way  in  which  true  knowledge  can  be 
obtained.  It  is  thus  the  philosopher  is  accus- 
tomed to  act.  He  carefully  interrogates  na- 
ture for  facts ;  these  facts  are  received ;  they 
are  classified  and  harmonized  as  far  as  the 
investigator  is  able  thus  to  reconcile  them. 
But  he  rejects  none  because  he  cannot  make 
it  fit  into  a  system.  He  waits  for  further 
light.  It  is  thus  we  are  bound  to  act.  We 
too  are  called  upon  to  receive  every  truth 
upon  its  own  evidence;  to  harmonize  our 
knowledge  where  we  can,  but  to  reject  no- 
thing simply  because  of  our  ignorance  of  its 
consistency  with  other  truths. 

A  third  lesson  which  it  is  very  important 
for  us  to  learn  is,  what  is  adequate  evidence 


112  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

of  truth  and  when  we  are  bound  to  rest  satis- 
fied. This  may  be  a  question  which  it  is 
difficult  to  decide ;  but  as  far  as  religion  is 
concerned  the  case  is  sufficiently  plain.  By 
the  laws  of  our  being*  we  are  imperatively 
required  to  confide  in  the  well  ascertained 
testimony  of  our  senses;  to  rely  upon  the 
veracity  of  our  own  consciousness ;  to  receive 
the  unimpeachable  testimony  of  our  fellow 
men,  and  to  abide  by  those  truths  which  are 
matters  of  intuitive  perception,  or  the  neces- 
sary conclusions  of  reason.  These  are  laws 
of  belief  impressed  upon  our  constitution  by 
our  creator ;  and  are  therefore  the  authorita- 
tive expressions  of  his  will.  To  refuse  obe- 
dience to  these  laws  is,  then,  not  only  unrea- 
sonable, it  is  rebellion  against  God.  They 
are  the  adamantine  bars  by  which  he  has 
closed  up  the  way  to  universal  skepticism; 
and  those  who  break  through  them  do  but 
prematurely  enter  upon  the  outer  darkness. 
We  are  obliged  then  as  rational  beings  to 
receive  every  truth  which  rests  upon  the  tes- 
timony of  our  senses,  upon  the  authority  of 
consciousness,  the  unimpeachable  testimony 
of  witnesses,  or  the  intuitive  perceptions  or 
necessary  deductions  of  reason.  Whether 
we   can   systematize   and    reconcile   all   the 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  113 

truths  thus  arrived  at,  is  a  very  different 
question.  Ckir  obligation  to  receive  them 
does  not  rest  upon  this  power,  but  upon  the 
evidence  afforded  for  each  separate  truth. 
Our  consciousness  tells  us  that  we  are  sin- 
ners ;  it  also  informs  us  of  our  helplessness. 
We  may  fight  against  one  or  the  other  of 
these  truths  as  the  ocean  chafes  the  rocks. 
They  cannot  be  moved.  When  the  mind  has 
been  drugged  with  false  philosophy,  it  may 
for  a  time  disbelieve.  But  the  infidelity  lasts 
no  longer  than  the  intoxication.  As  soon  as 
the  man  is  sober,  the  truth  re-appears  in 
greater  clearness  and  authority  than  ever. 
Nothing  therefore  can  be  eventually  gained 
by  resistance  to  the  truth,  and  it  is  the  part 
of  wisdom  to  submit  at  once  to  the  laws  of 
belief  which  God  has  impressed  upon  our 
nature. 

Besides  this  rule  of  faith,  (if  it  may  be  so 
called,)  which  God  has  given  us  in  the  con- 
stitution of  our  nature,  we  have  his  word  and 
his  providence,  authenticated  by  all  kinds  of 
adequate  testimony.  There  can  be  no  higher 
ground  of  faith  than  the  authority  of  God. 
Even  confidence  in  the  testimony  of  our 
senses  or  the  dictates  of  consciousness,  re- 
solves itself  into  confidence  in  the  veracity  of 
10^ 


114  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

God,  by  whom  the  laws  of  nature  have  been 
established.  Any  truth  therefore  which  is 
sustained  by  a  well  authenticated  revelation 
of  God,  or  upon  the  actual  dispensations  of 
his  providence,  must  be  considered  as  fully 
established;  and  every  objection  which  can 
be  shown  to  militate  against  either,  must  be 
considered  as  fully  answered.  It  was  thus 
that  the  sacred  writers  answered  objections. 
It  was  enough  for  them  that  God  asserted 
any  truth,  or  actually  exercised  any  preroga- 
tive. Any  further  vindication  they  deemed 
unnecessary.  We  should  act  on  the  same 
principle  and  quietly  submit  to  all  that  God 
says  and  to  all  he  does.  Some  men  com- 
plainingly  ask,  Why  were  we  born  ?  Surely 
it  is  enough  that  they  are  born.  The  fact 
cannot  be  denied,  whether  they  can  see  the 
wisdom  and  design  of  their  creation  or  not. 
Or  they  ask.  Why  were  we  born  in  a  state 
of  sin,  or  in  a  world  in  which  sin  is  universal 
and  inevitable  ?  This,  to  human  reason,  may 
be  a  question  impossible  to  answer.  But  as 
the  fact  stares  us  in  the  face,  is  there  any  use 
in  denying  it  ?  But  it  is  further  asked.  If  we 
are  born  in  such  a  state  that  either  from  our 
nature  or  circumstances  sin  is  inevitable 
and  universal,  how  can  we  be  responsible? 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  115 

Whatever  difficulty  there  may  be  in  showing 
how  we  are  responsible,  there  is  no  doubt  as 
to  the  fact.  We  feel  ourselves  to  be  respon- 
sible, and  can  no  more  free  ourselves  from 
the  conviction  than  we  can  get  rid  of  the  con- 
sciousness of  existence.  Where  then  is  the 
wisdom  of  quarrelling  with  facts?  Why 
should  we  spend  pur  lives  like  a  wild  beast 
in  a  cage  for  ever  chafing  against  the  bars  of 
its  prison,  which  nevertheless  remain  ?  Let 
us  learn  to  submit  to  what  we  see  to  be  true ; 
let  us  remember  that  our  knowledge  does  not 
embrace  all  truth ;  that  things  may  be  per- 
fectly consistent  with  each  other  and  with 
the  attributes  of  God,  though  we  may  not  see 
how.  Our  knowledge  will  continually  in- 
crease ;  and  those  facts  which  r^ive  us  most 
difficulty  will  be  found  to  be  so  analogous  to 
others,  the  justice  of  which  we  are  able  to  re- 
cognise, that  if  we  never  come  to  see  all 
things  in  their  harmony,  we  shall  at  least  see 
that  they  must  be  consistent,  being  parts  of 
that  system  which  is  every  where  luminous 
with  the  manifestations  of  the  wisdom  and 
love  of  God.  Let  us  remember  that  we  are 
children,  the  children  of  God,  that  he  gives 
us  abundant  evidence  of  every  thing  which 
he  requires  us  to  believe,  though  he  renders 


116  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

it  necessary  for  us  to  exercise  confidence  in 
him,  to  feel  assured  that  what  he  says  is  true 
and  that  what  he  does  is  right ;  that  though 
clouds  and  darkness  may  be  round  about  him, 
justice  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his 
throne. 

The  last  general  remark  to  be  made  in  re- 
ference to  these  objections,  is,  that  they  are 
almost  always  dishonestly  urged;  that  is, 
they  are  urged  with  an  inward  conviction  of 
their  fallacy.  As  in  many  cases  we  know 
things  to  be  true,  which  we  cannot  prove,  so 
we  often  know  objections  to  be  fallacious 
which  we  cannot  answer.  If  a  man  denies 
his  own  existence,  or  the  distinction  between 
right  and  wrong,  it  is  in  vain  to  argue  with 
him.  There  can  be  nothing  plainer  than  the 
truth  denied,  and  therefore  there  can  be  no 
means  of  proving  it.  So  also,  if,  to  escape 
the  charge  of  guilt,  he  denies  his  responsibili- 
ty, he  denies  a  fact  of  consciousness,  which 
cannot  possibly  be  made  plainer.  Or  if  he 
plead  his  inability  as  an  excuse  for  not  re- 
penting and  obeying  God,  he  presents  a  plea 
which  he  knows  has  no  validity.  He  knows 
that  however  real  this  inability  may  be,  it  is 
of  such  a  nature  as  to  afford  no  excuse  for  his 
continuing  in  sin,  because  the  conviction  of 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  117 

its  reality  co-exists,  in  his  own  consciousness, 
with  a  sense  of  guilt.  It  is  a  plea  therefore 
that  dees  not  avail  at  the  bar  of  his  own  con- 
science, and  he  knows  that  it  will  not  avail 
at  the  bar  of  God.  In  like  manner,  when 
men  object  to  the  strictness  of  the  divine  law, 
they  do  so  with  the  inward  persuasion  of  the 
righteousness  of  that  law.  Its  requirements 
commend  themselves  to  their  conscience. 
They  know  that  as  God  is  infinitely  wise  and 
good,  it  is  right  that  we  should  regard  him 
with  supreme  affection,  and  implicitly  sub- 
mit to  all  his  directions. 

All  such  cavilling  objections,  men  know  to 
be  false.  God  has  not  left  himself  without  a 
witness.  His  voice  has  an  authority  which 
we  cannot  resist.  When  he  tells  us  we  are 
sinners,  we  know  it  to  be  true.  When  he 
tells  us  that  we  are  worthy  of  death,  we  know 
it  to  be  a  righteous  judgment.  When  he 
tells  us  that  we  have  no  strength  to  save  our- 
selves, and  that  our  salvation  depends  upon 
his  will,  we  know  it  to  be  even  so.  When- 
ever he  reveals  himself,  our  mouths  are  shut, 
not  from  fear  merely,  but  from  an  intimate 
persuasion  of  the  justice  of  all  his  ways.  It 
is,  then,  both  foolish  and  wicked  to  urge  ob- 
jections against  the  truth,  which  we  ourselves 


118  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE 

know  to  be  futile,  whether  this  be  done  with 
a  view  to  perplex  our  fellow-men,  or  in  the 
vain  endeavour  to  silence  the  accusations  of 
conscience  and  the  word  of  God. 

Such  is  the  power  of  truth  that  neither  the 
natural  insensibility  of  the  heart,  nor  the 
want  of  consideration,  nor  the  direct  efforts 
which  men  make  to  suppress  serious  thoughts, 
nor  the  whole  array  of  sophistical  objections, 
can  avail  to  counteract  the  secret  conviction 
in  the  breast  of  the  impenitent,  that  they  are 
in  the  road  to  eternal  death.  This  convic- 
tion is  often  very  weak.  When  men  are  en- 
grossed in  the  concerns  of  this  world,  it  is 
overlooked.  Still  it  is  there;  and  it  is  ever 
and  anon  waking  up  to  trouble  them.  Nor 
can  the  suggestion,  that  God  is  merciful  and, 
peradventure,  will  not  be  strict  to  mark  ini- 
quity, quiet  this  uneasy  apprehension.  This 
suggestion,  therefore,  avails  but  little.  It  is 
counteracted  by  the  sense  of  ill-desert,  by  the 
irrepressible  conviction  that  those  who  com- 
mit sin  are  worthy  of  death ;  by  the  plain  de- 
clarations of  Scripture,  and  by  the  evidence 
which  even  providence  affords,  that  God  is 
righteous.  The  vague  apprehension  of  com- 
ing wrath,  therefore,  in  despite  of  all  their 
efforts,  still  haunts  the  path  of  the  impeni- 


TO  THE  CHARGE  OF  SIN.  119 

tent.  It  chills  their  joys  and  gathers  strength 
whenever  the  world  seems  to  be  receding 
from  their  grasp. 

Most  men  are  driven  to  enter  the  plea  of 
guilty  before  the  bar  of  conscience,  and  con- 
tent themselves  with  praying  for  a  delay  of 
judgment.  They  are  forced  to  admit  that 
they  are  not  fit  to  die  in  their  present  state ; 
that  they  are  bound  to  comply  with  the  re- 
quirements of  the  gospel,  but  they  plead  for 
time.  Go  thy  way  for  this  time;  when  I 
have  a  more  convenient  season  I  will  call  for 
thee.  Conscience  is  more  easily  deluded  by 
this  plea,  which  seems  to  admit  its  demands, 
than  by  any  other.  It  is,  therefore,  the  most 
dangerous  snare  for  souls.  Men  do  not  re- 
flect on  the  wickedness  of  pleading  with  God 
for  liberty  to  continue,  a  little  longer  in  sin ; 
to  be  allowed  to  break  his  commandments,  to 
disregard  his  mercies,  to  slight  his  love,  and 
to  injure  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness. They  do  not  think  of  the  indignation 
with  which  they  would  reject  such  a  plea 
from  an  ungrateful  and  disobedient  son  or 
servant.  Nor  do  they  remember  that  every 
such  act  of  procrastination  is  a  great  aggrava- 
tion of  their  guilt,  as  it  supposes  a  conscious- 
ness of  the  evil  of  their  present  course  and  a 


120  CAUSES  OF  INDIFFERENCE,  &C. 

recognition  of  the  righteousness  of  all  the  de- 
mands of  God.  Nor  do  they  consider  that 
the  difficulties  which  beset  the  path  of  their 
return  to  God  are  all  increased  by  delay.  If 
the  work  of  repentance  be  irksome  to-day,  it 
will  be  more  irksome  to  morrow.  If  the 
heart  be  now  hard,  it  will  become  yet  harder 
by  neglect.  If  the  power  of  sin  be  now  too 
strong  for  us  to  resist,  it  will  become  still 
stronger  by  indulgence.  If  the  motives  to 
repentance  now  fail  to  secure  obedience,  they 
will  act  with  constantly  increasing  disadvan- 
tage hereafter.  If  God  be  justly  displeased 
now,  he  will  be  more  and  more  displeased  by 
continued  disobedience.  Every  day's  pro- 
crastination therefore  increases,  at  a  fearful 
rate,  the  probability  of  our  final  perdition. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CONVICTION    OF    SIN. 

Section  I.   Knowledge  of  sin.     Sense  of 
personal  ill-desert. 

Though  men  are  generally  so  indifferent 
to  their  sinfulness  and  danger,  it  often  pleases 
God  to  arouse  their  attention,  and  to  produce 
a  deep  conviction  of  the  truth  of  all  that  the 
Bible  teaches  on  these  subjects.  The  effects 
of  such  conviction  are  very  various,  because 
they  are  modified  by  the  temperament,  the 
knowledge,  the  circumstances  and  concomi- 
tant exercises  of  those  who  experience  it.  A 
sentence  of  death,  if  passed  upon  a  hundred 
men,  would  probably  affect  no  two  of  them 
alike.  The  mind  of  one  might  fasten  parti- 
cularly on  the  turpitude  of  his  crime ;  that  of 
another  upon  the  disgrace  which  he  had  in- 
curred ;  that  of  a  third  on  the  sufferings  of  his 
friends  on  his  account ;  that  of  a  fourth  upon 
the  horrors  of  death,  or  upon  the  fearfulness 
of  appearing  before  God.  All  these  and 
11 


122  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

many  other  views,  in  endless  combination, 
might  operate  with  different  degrees  of  force 
on  each,  and  the  result  be  still  farther  modi- 
fied by  their  physical  and  moral  tempera- 
ment, their  knowledge  and  previous  history. 
The  endless  diversity,  therefore,  in  the  expe- 
rience of  men  when  convinced  of  sin,  is  what 
might  be  expected ;  and  shows  it  to  be  impos- 
sible to  give  any  description  of  such  expe- 
rience that  shall  be  applicable  to  all  cases. 
It  will  be  sufficient  briefly  to  state,  what  the 
Scriptures  teach  to  be  necessary  on  this  sub- 
ject. 

There  must  be  some  correct  knowledge  of 
sin.  It  is  clearly  the  doctrine  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, confirmed  by  universal  experience,  that 
men  are  naturally  exceedingly  blind  on  this 
subject.  They  have  very  inadequate  ideas  of 
the  nature  of  this  evil.  Being  ignorant  of 
the  holiness  of  God,  they  do  not  regard  the 
opposition  of  sin  to  his  nature  so  much  as  its 
effects  upon  themselves,  or  upon  society. 
They  judge  of  it  by  a  wrong  standard,  and 
hence  all  their  judgments  respecting  it  are 
either  erroneous  or  defective.  Its  real  na- 
ture, or  the  real  source  of  its  evil  in  a  great 
measure  escapes  their  notice.  Hence  a  thou- 
sand things  which  are  unquestionably  sinful, 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  123 

they  in  general  overlook  or  disregard.  It  is 
not  so  much  the  state  of  the  heart  towards 
•  God,  as  the  temper  and  deportment  of  one 
man  towards  his  fellow-men,  that  they  con- 
sider. And  therefore  they  often  regard  them- 
selves and  others  as  really  good,  though  they 
may  be  destitute  of  any  one  right  sentiment 
towards  their  maker.  Being  ignorant  of  the 
true  nature  of  sin,  they  have  no  conception  of 
the  number  of  their  transgressions.  They 
are  disposed  to  estimate  them  by  the  number 
of  positive  or  overt  acts  of  disobedience  to  the 
moral  law ;  overlooking  the  habitual  state  of 
the  heart,  the  uniform  want  of  love,  faith,  and 
due  reverence  towards  God.  Nor  have  they 
any  adequate  idea  of  the  guilt  of  sin.  It  is  to 
them,  as  it  exists  in  themselves,  comparative- 
ly a  trifle.  Any  great  concern  about  it,  they 
consider  unreasonable ;  and  when  manifested 
by  others,  hypocritical  or  fanatical.  There  is 
a  deceitfulness  in  sin  by  which  men  are  de- 
luded so  as  to  form  wrong  judgments  as  to  its 
nature,  its  extent,  its  turpitude  and  power. 
This  delusion  must  be  dispelled.  The  eyes 
must  be  opened  to  see  sin  as  it  is  represented 
in  the  w^ord  of  God,  as  an  exceedingly  evil 
and  bitter  thing,  as  extending  not  merely  to 
overt  acts  or  out-breaks  of  passion,  but  as 


124  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

deeply  seated  in  the  heart,  polluting  at  the 
fountain  the  streams  of  life ;  as  really  deserv- 
ing the  punishment  which  God  has  denounced 
against  it ;  and  as  having  such  hold  upon  the 
inward  principles  of  our  nature,  that  its  pow- 
er cannot  be  broken  by  any  ordinary  exertion. 
This  insight  into  the  Scriptural  account  of 
sin  is  attended  with  a  firm  conviction  of  its 
truth ;  and  this  conviction  is  inseparable  from 
the  kind  of  knowledge  of  which  we  are  now 
speaking ;  because  it  is  in  fact  nothing  but  an 
insight  into  the  nature  of  the  Scriptural  doc- 
trine as  true,  or  as  accordant  with  the  moral 
nature  which  God  has  given  us.  Men  there- 
fore are  not  thus  convinced  either  by  argu- 
ment or  authority.  They  see  and  feel  what 
God  has  declared  concerning  the  nature  and 
evil  of  sin  to  be  true.  Hence  the  conviction 
is  irresistible  even  when  most  unwelcome. 
We  often  see  it  taking  sudden  and  powerful 
possession  of  the  soul,  when  conscience  is 
roused  from  its  torpor  and  assents  to  the  de- 
clarations of  God,  with  a  force  not  to  be  re- 
sisted. When  Paul  reasoned  of  righteous- 
ness, temperance  and  judgment  to  come, 
Felix  trembled.  The  truth,  externally  pre- 
sented, found  such  a  response  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Roman  governor,  that  he  could  not  dis- 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  125 

believe.  This  is  in  accordance  with  daily- 
experience.  The  cavils  of  men  against  the 
unreasonable  strictness  of  the  divine  law  and 
their  objections  against  the  justice  of  its  awful 
penalty  vanish,  in  a  moment,  when  their  eyes 
are  open  to  see  what  the  law  and  its  violation 
really  are.  And  so  long  as  the  perception 
lasts,  the  conviction  remains.  If  they  can 
succeed  in  shutting  out  the  light,  and  in 
quieting  conscience  roused  by  its  intrusion, 
they  become  as  skeptical  as  ever  on  all  these 
subjects.  In  many  cases  they  succeed  in 
closing  their  eyes  on  what  they  hate  to  see ; 
and  regain  their  former  unbelief  But  often 
this  is  found  to  be  impossible,  especially  on 
the  near  approach  of  death,  or  w^hen  God  is 
about  to  pluck  them  as  brands  from  the  burn- 
ing. Probably  a  day  does  not  pass  without 
some  illustration  of  the  truth  of  these  re- 
marks. Men  who  have  long  lived  in  unbe- 
lief or  carelessness  are  arrested  by  an  influ- 
ence which  they  can  neither  understand  nor 
resist.  There  is  no  new  revelation,  no  novel 
arguments,  no  conscious  process  of  reasoning. 
There  is  simply  a  perception  of  the  truth 
of  the  declarations  of  God  concerning  sin. 
Against  the  conviction  thence  arising,  their 
old  cavils,  the  arguments  and  assurances  of 
11^- 


126  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

their  friends  have  no  effect.  They  do  not 
reach  the  point.  They  are  addressed  to 
something  quite  foreign  to  the  ground  of  the 
conviction,  and  therefore  do  not  affect  it. 
Though  this  persuasion  of  the  truth  of  the 
Scriptural  doctrine  respecting  sin,  is  often 
temporary,  it  forms  an  essential  part  of  those 
convictions  which  are  abiding  and  saving. 
Men  may  have  this  persuasion  who  never  ac- 
cept the  offers  of  salvation,  but  those  who  do 
accept  them  cannot  be  entirely  without  it. 

This  knowledge  of  sin,  which  enters  so  es- 
sentially into  the  nature  of  true  conviction,  is 
derived  from  the  law,  for  by  the  law  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin.  I  had  not  known  sin,  said 
the  apostle,  but  by  the  law.  For  without  the 
law,  sin  was  dead.  I  was  alive  without  the 
law  once ;  but  when  the  commandment  came 
sin  revived  and  I  died.  It  is  clearly  taught 
in  these  and  similar  passages,  that  the  apostle 
was  at  one  time  ignorant  of  the  extent  and 
spirituality  of  the  law,  and  consequently  igno- 
rant of  sin.  He  thought  himself  to  be  as 
good  as  could  be  reasonably  expected.  He 
was  contented  and  at  ease.  But  when  the 
law  was  revealed  to  him  in  its  true  character, 
his  views  of  sin  were  at  once  changed.  He 
came  to  know  what  it  was,  and  to  feel  its 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  127 

power  over  himself.  A  thousand  things 
v^hich  before  had  appeared  indifferent  or  tri- 
vial, he  now  saw  to  be  aggravated  offences ; 
and  especially  the  secret,  deep-seated  evil  of 
his  heart,  which  had  escaped  his  knowledge 
or  regard,  was  detected  as  the  great  source  of 
all  other  sin. 

The  law  is  the  means  of  communicating 
this  knowledge,  because  it  is  an  expression  of 
the  perfect  holiness  of  God.  So  long  as  men 
judge  themselves  by  themselves,  and  compare 
themselves  among  themselves,  they  will  be  in 
the  dark  as  to  their  true  character.  It  is  not 
until  they  judge  themselves  by  the  perfect 
standard  of  duty  contained  in  the  law  of  God, 
that  they  can  have  any  proper  knowledge  of 
their  real  character.  It  is  in  his  light  that 
we  see  light.  It  is  only  when  we  look  away 
from  the  sinful  beings  by  whom  we  are  sur- 
rounded, and  feel  ourselves  in  the  presence  of 
the  perfect  purity  of  God,  that  we  are  sensi- 
ble of  the  extent  of  our  departure  from  the 
standard  of  excellence.  It  is  therefore  both 
the  doctrine  of  the  Bible  and  the  experience 
of  the  people  of  God,  that  the  knowledge  of 
sin  arises  from  the  apprehension  of  the  divine 
excellence  as  revealed  in  the  law. 

There  is  no  doubt  great  diversity  in  the 


128  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

experience  of  Chrstians  as  to  the  clearness  of 
their  views  on  this  subject.  In  some  cases 
every  thing  is  seen  as  through  a  glass,  darkly ; 
in  others  there  is  such  a  discovery  of  the  infi- 
nite excellence  of  God  and  of  his  law,  as  to 
fill  the  mind  with  the  greatest  reverence  and 
self-abasement.  Sometimes  this  knowledge 
steals  upon  the  mind  as  imperceptibly  as  the 
opening  day;  at  others,  in  a  moment,  the 
truth  stands  disclosed  in  all  its  awful  purity. 
The  man  who  one  hour  was  unconcerned, 
the  next  is  full  of  astonishment  at  his  former 
blindness.  He  wonders  how  it  was  possible 
he  could  be  so  ignorant  of  the  excellence  of 
God  and  the  perfection  of  his  law.  He  is 
amazed  at  his  infatuation  in  thinking  that  he 
was  to  be  judged  by  the  common  standard  of 
man's  judgment,  by  the  low  demands  of  the 
world  or  of  his  associates.  He  now  sees  that 
the  rule  by  which  he  is  to  be  tried  is  infinite- 
ly pure,  and  cannot  overlook  the  least  trans- 
gression. We  are  no  where  taught  what  de- 
gree of  clearness  of  this  knowledge  is  neces- 
sary to  salvation.  We  only  know  that  men 
must  have  such  a  knowledge  of  sin  as  to 
bring  their  judgments  respecting  it  into  ac- 
cordance with  the  declarations  of  God ;  that 
instead  of  that  perpetual  opposition  to  the 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  129 

doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  respecting  the  evil 
and  extent  of  sin,  which  men  so  generally 
evince,  they  must  be  brought  to  acquiesce  in 
the  truth  and  justice  of  all  God's  representa- 
tions on  the  subject. 

Besides  this  knowledge  of  sin  and  assent  to 
the  Scriptural  doctrine  on  the  subject,  there 
is,  in  genuine  conviction,  a  sense  of  personal 
unworthiness.  This  perhaps  has  been  in  a 
measure  anticipated,  but  it  deserves  particu- 
lar consideration.  Holy  beings  may  have  a 
clear  perception  of  the  truth  as  presented  in 
the  word  of  God  respecting  the  nature  of  sin, 
but  they  can  have  no  sense  of  moral  turpi- 
tude. And  among  men  there  is  often  a  clear 
understanding  of  the  doctrine  on  this  subject, 
and  a  general  assent  to  its  truth,  without  any 
adequate  conviction  that  what  the  Bible  says 
of  sinners  is  applicable  to  us.  It  is  not 
enough  therefore  that  we  should  know  and 
believe  what  the  Scriptures  teach  respecting 
sin,  we  must  feel  that  it  is  all  true  as  it  re- 
gards ourselves.  There  must  be  an  assent  of 
our  own  consciousness  to  the  declaration  that 
the  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things  and 
desperately  wicked ;  that  in  us,  that  is,  in  our 
flesh,  there  dwelleth  no  good  thing.  This 
sense  of  personal  unworthiness  is  the  princi- 


130  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

pal  part  of  conviction  of  sin.  It  is  the  oppo- 
site of  that  false  notion  of  our  own  excellence, 
which  we  are  so  prone  to  indulge.  It  destroys 
our  self-complacency  and  eradicates  the  dis- 
position to  justify  ourselves,  or  extenuate  our 
guilt. 

The  most  certain  concomitant  of  this  sense 
of  moral  turpitude  in  the  sight  of  God,  is 
shame.  0  my  God,  cried  Ezra  under  a  sense 
of  sin,  I  am  ashamed  and  blush  to  lift  up  my 
face  to  thee  my  God,  for  our  iniquities  are 
increased  over  our  head,  and  our  trespass  is 
grown  up  unto  the  heavens.  And  Daniel 
said :  0  Lord,  righteousness  belongeth  unto 
thee,  but  unto  us  confusion  of  face  as  at  this 
day.  I  have  heard  of  thee,  said  Job,  with  the 
hearing  of  the  ear,  but  now  my  eye  seeth 
thee,  and  I  abhor  myself  and  repent  in  dust 
and  ashes.  And  in  another  place  he  says: 
Behold  I  am  vile,  what  shall  I  answer  thee  ? 
I  will  lay  my  hand  upon  my  mouth.  The 
same  feeling  is  expressed  by  the  Psalmist, 
when  he  says.  Mine  iniquities  have  taken 
hold  upon  me,  so  that  I  cannot  look  up ;  they 
are  more  than  the  hairs  of  my  head,  there- 
fore, my  heart  faileth  me.  The  same  emo- 
tion filled  the  bosom  of  the  Publican,  when 
he  would  not  so  much  as  lift  up  his  eyes  to 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  131 

heaven,  but  smote  iipon  his  breast  and  said, 
God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner. 

With  this  sense  of  unworthiness  are  min- 
gled, in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  the  feelings 
of  contrition  and  remorse;  sorrow  for  our  in- 
numerable offences,  and  bitter  self-condemna- 
tion. To  these  are  often  added  perplexity 
and  fear  of  the  wrath  of  God ;  a  dread  lest 
our  sins  never  can  be  forgiven,  lest  our  defile- 
ment never  can  be  washed  away.  No  suffer- 
ing in  this  world  can  exceed  what  the  soul 
often  endures  under  the  pressure  of  these  feel- 
ings. It  cries  out  with  Paul,  O  wretched 
man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the 
body  of  this  death?  Or  it  is  forced  to  say 
with  Job,  The  arrows  of  the  Almighty  are 
within  me,  the  poison  whereof  drinketh  up 
my  spirits;  and  the  terrors  of  God  do  set 
themselves  in  array  against  me.  Or  with 
David,  While  I  suffer  thy  terrors  I  am  dis- 
tracted ;  thy  fierce  wrath  goeth  over  me ;  thy 
terrors  have  cut  me  off. 

With  the  inspired  record  of  the  experience 
of  God's  people  on  this  subject,  we  find  the 
language  of  his  more  eminent  servants  in 
later  times  remarkably  coincident.  The  con- 
fessions of  Augustin  are  full  of  similar  expres- 
sions of  humiliation  and   anguish   under  a 


132  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

sense  of  sin.  And  even  the  stout  heart  of 
Luther  was  so  broken  by  his  inward  suffer- 
ings, that  his  life  was  long  a  burden  almost 
too  heavy  for  him  to  bear.  But  while  it  is 
no  doubt  true  that  it  is  the  natural  tendency 
of  correct  apprehensions  of  our  real  character 
in  the  sight  of  God  to  produce  these  strong 
emotions  of  humiliation  and  sorrow;  and 
while  it  is  no  less  true  that  those  who  have 
made  the  most  eminent  attainments  in  holi- 
ness, have  generally  had  the  largest  share  of 
these  inward  trials,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  they  are  necessary  to  the  character  of  a 
Christian.  On  the  contrary,  a  believing  ap- 
prehension of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Jesus 
Christ,  while  it  would  not  prevent  humilia- 
tion and  penitential  sorrow  on  account  of  sin, 
would  effectually  extract  the  bitterness  of  re- 
morse and  fear  from  the  cup  of  repentance. 
There  is  no  true  religion  in  these  terrors  and 
fearful  apprehensions.  The  death-bed  of  the 
impenitent  often  exhibits  this  sense  of  guilt, 
humiliation,  remorse,  dread  of  punishment 
and  other  indications  of  an  enlightened  and 
awakened  conscience.  And  in  many  cases 
those  who  have  suffered  all  this  distress,  lose 
their  serious  impressions  and  sink  into  their 
former  carelessness.     Though;  therefore,  the 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  133 

pain  of  remorse  and  dread  of  the  wrath  of 
God  often  attend  conviction  of  sin,  they  do 
not  constitute  it.  In  many  cases  there  is  lit- 
tle of  this  agitation  of  feeling.  Perhaps  the 
most  frequent  form  of  religious  experience  on 
this  subject  is  a  deep  distress  on  account  of 
the  want  of  an  excitement  of  feeling  corres- 
ponding with  the  judgment  of  the  under- 
standing and  conscience.  The  common  com- 
plaint with  many  is,  that  they  cannot  feel ; 
that  their  hearts  are  like  ice ;  that  the  know- 
ledge and  perception  of  their  ingratitude  and 
disobedience  produce  little  or  no  emotion. 
Such  persons  would  gladly  exchange  their 
insensibility  for  the  keenest  anguish;  their 
constant  prayer  is  that  God  would  take  from 
them  their  heart  of  stone,  and  give  them  a 
heart  of  flesh.  This  form  of  experience  is 
just  as  consistent  with  the  nature  of  convic- 
tion of  sin  as  the  other.  All  that  is  necessary 
is  the  testimony  of  conscience  to  the  justice 
of  the  divine  representations  of  our  character 
and  conduct ;  the  consciousness  and  acknow- 
ledgment that  we  are  what  God  declares  us 
to  be.  Where  this  judgment  of  the  con- 
science, or  this  sense  of  personal  unworthi- 
ness  exists,  leading  the  sinner  to  lay  his  hand 
upon  his  mouth  in  the  presence  of  God,  and 
12 


134  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

to  bow  at  his  feet  as  undeserving  of  mercy, 
there,  as  far  as  this  point  is  concerned,  is 
genuine  conviction. 

This  state  of  mind  may  be  produced  in 
very  different  ways.  Sometimes  it  is  the  re- 
sult of  a  calm  review  of  life  and  a  comparison 
of  the  habitual  state  of  the  heart  and  general 
course  of  our  conduct  with  the  law  of  God. 
Sometimes,  some  one  offence  more  than  com- 
monly aggravated,  seizes  upon  the  conscience ; 
some  broken  vow,  some  neglected  call,  some 
open  sin,  is  made  the  means  of  revealing  the 
man  to  himself.  Whatever  may  be  the  par- 
ticular occasion,  the  mind  is  led  to  fix  itself 
on  its  responsibility  to  God,  and  the  convic- 
tion of  its  guilt  becomes  settled  and  confirm- 
ed. This  is  necessary  to  the  sinner's  return 
to  God.  So  long  as  he  thinks  himself  whole, 
he  will  not  apply  to  the  physician.  So  long 
as  he  regards  his  sins  as  either  few  or  trivial, 
he  will  feel  no  concern  for  pardon  or  sanctifi- 
cation.  But  when  his  eyes  are  opened  and 
his  conscience  aroused,  he  feels  that  his  case 
demands  immediate  and  earnest  attention;  he 
knows  himself  to  be  unprepared  to  meet  his 
God,  that  his  sins  are  so  great  that  they  can- 
not be  forgiven,  unless  he  obtains  an  interest 
in  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  135 

Every  true  Christian  is  in  some  way  brought 
to  this  conviction  and  acknov^ledgment  of 
personal  ill-desert  in  the  sight  of  God. 

In  the  third  place,  conviction  of  sin  in- 
cludes a  conviction  of  our  condemnation  be- 
fore God.  A  sense  of  sin  is  a  sense  of  unwor- 
thiness,  and  a  sense  of  unvrorthiness  involves 
a  sense  of  just  exposure  to  the  divine  displea- 
sure. It  may  be  proper  to  notice  three  very 
distinct  states  of  mind  in  reference  to  this 
subject.  It  is  very  obvious  that  our  views  of 
the  punishment  due  to  sin,  must  depend  upon 
our  views  of  sin  itself.  If  we  have  inade- 
quate apprehensions  of  the  evil  of  sin,  we 
shall  have  inadequate  apprehensions  of  the 
punishment  which  it  deserves.  Hence  in  the 
great  majority  of  men  there  is  a  secret  disbe- 
lief of  the  Scriptural  representations  on  this 
subject.  They  cannot  reconcile  the  declara- 
tions of  God  respecting  the  doom  of  the  im- 
penitent with  their  views  of  his  justice  and 
mercy,  and,  therefore,  they  cannot  believe 
them.  And  it  very  often  happens  that  the 
sense  of  sin  which  serious  people  experience 
is  insufficient  to  overcome  this  unbelief,  or  at 
least,  the  strong  opposition  of  the  heart  to 
what  the  Bible  teaches  on  this  subject. 
They  feel   that  they  are  sinners,  they  feel 


136  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

that  they  deserve  the  displeasure  of  God,  but 
they  still  experience  a  secret  revolting  against 
the  dreadful  denunciations  of  the  Scriptures 
against  all  sin.  ''  To  submit  to  the  condemn- 
ing power  of  the  holy  law  of  God,"  says  Dr. 
Milner,  ''  is  a  hard  matter,  a  very  hard  matter 
indeed  to  do  this  thoroughly.  My  under- 
standing has  shown  me,  for  many  years,  that 
this  was  the  touchstone  of  a  sound  conver- 
sion ;  and  I  have  been  busy  enough  in  noting 
the  defect  of  it  in  others ;  but  as  to  myself,  if 
I  have  got  on  at  all  in  this  respect,  it  is  very 
lately  indeed.  The  heart  is  sadly  deceitful 
here ;  for,  with  Christ's  salvation  before  one's 
eye,  one  may  easily  fancy  that  God  is  just 
and  equitable  in  condemning  sinners ;  when 
if  you  put  the  case,  only  for  a  moment,  to 
your  own  heart  seriously,  as  a  thing  likely  to 
happen,  the  heart  will  rise  against  such  a  dis- 
pensation ;  perhaps  indeed  with  a  smothered 
sort  of  opposition  and  dislike,  but  which  is 
very  steady  and  determined.  Nothing  less 
than  the  Holy  Ghost  himself  can  cure  this, 
by  showing  us  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face 
of  Jesus  Christ."^  That  the  soul  should  re- 
volt at  the  idea  of  its  own  misery,  is  the  law 
of  our  nature,  and  never  can  be  eradicated. 

*  Wilberforce's  Correspondence. 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  137 

This  is  not  the  sentiment  which  it  is  intend- 
ed to  condemn,  but  the  opposition  of  the 
heart  to  the  truth  and  justice  of  God's  decla- 
rations respecting  the  punishment  due  to  sin. 
It  is  this  opposition,  this  disposition  to  crimi- 
nate God,  to  regard  him  as  unjustly  severe, 
which  ought  to  be  subdued ;  because  it  shows 
that  our  hearts  are  not  in  harmony  with  his 
word ;  that  we  regard  as  unjust  what  he  pro- 
nounces just.  All  experience  shows  that  this 
is  a  very  common  state  of  mind.  And  its  ex- 
istence proves  that  our  views  of  the  ill-desert 
of  sin  have  not  been  sufficiently  clear  to  bring 
us  to  submit  to  the  plan  which  God  has  re- 
vealed for  our  redemption  from  deserved  con- 
demnation. 

The  opposite  extreme  to  this  is  the  feeling 
that  our  sins  are  so  great  that  they  cannot  be 
forgiven.  This  is  no  uncommon  persuasion. 
When  there  is  a  clear  discovery  of  the  evil  of 
sin,  with  no  concomitant  apprehension  of  the 
true  plan  of  salvation,  despair  is  the  natural 
result.  The  judgment  of  conscience  is  known 
to  be  true  when  it  pronounces  our  sins  to  be 
deserving  of  death.  And  unless  the  soul  sees 
how  God  can  be  just  and  yet  justify  the  sin- 
ner, it  cannot  hope  for  mercy.  Nothing  can 
be  more  pitiable  than  a  soul  in  this  condition. 
12^ 


138  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

Its  views  of  the  justice  of  God  and  of  the  evil 
of  sin,  are  neither  false  nor  exaggerated.  It 
is  their  truth  which  gives  them  power,  and 
which  renders  futile  the  soothing  assurances 
of  friends  that  God  will  not  be  so  strict  in 
marking  iniquity,  or  that  the  sinner's  guilt  is 
not  so  great  as  he  imagines.  An  enlightened 
conscience  cannot  be  thus  appeased,  and  if 
such  be  the  only  sources  of  consolation  to 
which  it  has  access,  it  must  despair. 

In  a  Christian  country,  however,  the  know^- 
ledge  of  the  plan  of  salvation  is  so  generally 
diffused,  that  it  seldom  fails,  even  when  im- 
perfectly understood,  to  calm  or  restrain  the 
apprehensions  of  God's  displeasure.  It  is 
known  that  God  can  pardon  sin,  that  there  is 
salvation  at  least  for  some,  for  some  have  been 
saved.  And  although  the  sinner  is  often  dis- 
posed to  think  that  his  is  an  excepted  case, 
or  that  there  is  some  peculiar  aggravation  in 
his  guilt,  which  puts  him  beyond  the  reach 
of  mercy,  yet  he  cannot  be  sure  that  this  is 
the  case.  And  in  his  darkest  hours  the  belief 
in  the  possibility  of  salvation  is  not  entirely 
destroyed. 

Between  these  extremes  of  inimical  opposi- 
tion to  the  truth  of  God  as  to  the  just  expo- 
sure of  the  sinner  to  condemnation  and  the 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  139 

despair  of  mercy  which  arises  from  unbelief, 
lies  genuine  conviction  of  ill-desert.  If  reli- 
gious experience  is  the  conformity  of  our 
judgments  and  feelings  to  the  truths  that  are 
revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  and  if  it  is  there 
revealed  that  the  wages  of  sin  is  death,  our 
judgment  and  feeling  must  assent  to  that 
truth;  we  must  admit  that  such  is  the  just 
desert  of  sin  and  of  our  sins.  There  must  be 
no  disposition  to  complain  of  the  extent  or 
severity  of  the  law ;  but  such  a  sense  of  ill- 
desert  in  the  sight  of  God  as  shall  lead  us  to 
lie  at  his  feet,  sensible  that  he  can  neither  do 
nor  threaten  wrong,  and  that  forgiveness  must 
be  a  matter  entirely  of  grace.  It  is  obvious 
that  there  can  be  no  intelligent  acceptance  of 
Christ  as  a  Saviour,  without  this  conviction 
of  our  exposure  to  condemnation,  and  there 
can  be  no  conviction  of  such  exposure,  with- 
out a  perception  of  the  justice  of  the  penalty 
of  the  law.  It  is,  however,  to  be  remembered 
that  there  are  many  things  involved  in  Chris- 
tian experience,  which  may  not  be  the  object 
of  distinct  attention.  It  may,  therefore,  well 
happen  that  many  pass  from  death  unto  life, 
without  any  lively  apprehension  of  the  wrath 
of  God,  or  any  very  distinct  impression 
that  all  that  he  has  threatened  against  sin 


140  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

might  be  justly  inflicted  upon  them.  Their 
attention  may  have  been  arrested  and  their 
hearts  moved  by  the  exhibition  of  the  love 
of  God  in  Christ,  and  they  may  have  been 
conscious,  at  the  time,  of  little  more  than  a 
cordial  acquiescence  in  the  gospel,  and  the 
desire  and  purpose  to  live  for  the  service  of 
God.  Still,  even  in  such  persons,  as  soon  as 
their  attention  is  directed  to  the  subject,  there 
is  a  full  recognition  of  ill-desert,  a  readiness 
to  acknowledge  that  salvation  is  a  matter  of 
grace,  and  that  they  would  have  no  right  to 
complain  had  they  been  left  to  perish  in  their 
sins.  Diversified,  therefore,  as  may  be  the 
experience  of  God's  people  on  this  subject, 
they  agree  in  acknowledging  the  justice  of 
God  in  his  demands  and  his  threatenings,  and 
in  regarding  themselves  as  unworthy  of  the 
least  of  all  his  favours. 

Section  II.  Insufficiency  of  our  own  righte- 
ousness and  of  our  own  strength. 

Another  essential  characteristic  of  genuine 
conviction  is  the  persuasion  that  our  own 
good  works  are  entirely  insufficient  to  recom- 
mend us  to  God,  or  to  be  the  ground  of  our 
acceptance  before  him.     Since  the  Scriptures 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  141 

declare  that  we  are  justified  freely,  not  by 
works,  lest  any  man  should  boast,  but  by  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ,  our  experience  must  accord 
with  this  declaration.  We  must  have  such 
views  of  the  holiness  of  God,  of  the  extent  of 
his  law  and  of  our  own  un worthiness  as  shall 
make  us  fully  sensible  that  we  cannot,  by  our 
own  works,  secure  either  pardon  or  accept- 
ance. It  is  easy  to  profess  that  we  do  not 
trust  to  our  own  righteousness,  but  really  to 
divest  ourselves  of  all  reliance  upon  our  sup- 
posed excellence,  is  a  diificult  task.  When  a 
man  is  roused  to  a  sense  of  his  guilt  and  dan- 
ger, his  first  impulse  is  almost  always  to  fly 
to  any  other  refuge  than  that  provided  in  the 
gospel.  The  most  natural  method  of  appeas- 
ing conscience  is  the  promise  of  reformation. 
Particular  sins  are  therefore  forsaken,  and  a 
struggle,  it  may  be,  is  maintained  against  all 
others.  This  conflict  is  often  long  and  pain- 
ful, but  it  is  always  unsuccessful.  It  is  soon 
found  that  sin,  in  one  form  or  other,  is  con- 
stantly getting  the  mastery,  and  the  soul  feels 
that  something  more  must  be  done  if  it  is 
ever  to  make  itself  fit  for  heaven.  It  is, 
therefore,  ready  to  do,  or  to  submit  to  any 
thing  which  appears  necessary  for  this  pur- 
pose.    What  particular  form  of  works  it  may 


142  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

be  which  it  endeavours  to  weave  into  a  robe 
of  righteousness,  depends  on  the  degree  of 
knowledge  which  it  possesses,  or  the  kind  of 
religious  instruction  which  it  receives.  When 
greatly  ignorant  of  the  gospel,  it  endeavours, 
by  painful  penances,  self-imposed,  or  pre- 
scribed by  priestly  authority,  to  make  satis- 
faction for  its  sins.  Experience  teaches  that 
there  is  no  extremity  of  self-denial  to  which 
a  conscience-stricken  man  will  not  gladly 
submit  as  a  means  of  satisfying  the  demands 
of  God.  If  heaven  were  really  to  be  gained 
by  such  means,  we  should  see  the  road  crowd- 
ed by  the  young  and  old,  the  rich  and  poor, 
the  learned  and  ignorant,  in  multitudes  as 
countless  as  those  which  throng  the  cruel 
temples  of  the  Hindoos,  or  which  perish  on 
the  burning  sands  of  Arabia.  This  is  the 
easiest,  the  pleasantest,  the  most  congenial  of 
all  the  methods  of  salvation,  taught  by  the 
cunning  craftiness  of  men.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  those  who  teach  it  as  the  doctrine  of  the 
gospel,  should  find  submissive  hearers.  If 
men  can  be  allowed  to  purchase  heaven,  or 
make  atonement  for  past  transgressions,  by 
present  suffering,  they  will  gladly  undertake 
it.  This  is  so  congenial  to  the  human  heart, 
that  men  who  are  well  informed,  and  who 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  143 

pride  themselves  on  their  independence  of 
mind,  are  scarcely  less  apt  to  be  caught  in 
the  meshes  of  this  net,  than  their  more  igno- 
rant brethren.  We  see,  therefore,  statesmen 
and  philosophers,  as  well  as  peasants,  wear- 
ing sackcloth,  or  walking  barefoot,  at  the 
bidding  of  their  religious  teachers. 

In  Protestant  countries,  where  the  Bible  is 
generally  accessible,  it  is  rare  to  see  any  such 
gross  exhibitions  of  the  spirit  of  self-righte- 
ousness. The  Scriptures  so  clearly  teach  the 
method  of  salvation,  that  almost  every  one 
knows  that  at  least  mere  external  works  of 
morality  or  discipline  cannot  avail  to  our  jus- 
tification before  God.  We  must  have  a  finer 
robe,  a  robe  composed  of  duties  of  a  higher 
value.  Prayers  are  multiplied,  the  house  of 
God  is  frequented,  the  whole  routine  of  reli- 
gious duties  is  assiduously  attended  to,  under 
the  impression  that  thus  we  shall  satisfy  the 
demands  of  God  and  secure  his  favour.  Mul- 
titudes are  contented  with  this  routine.  Their 
apprehensions  of  the  character  and  require- 
ments of  God,  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  of  their 
own  ill-desert  are  so  low,  that  this  remedy  is 
adequate  for  all  the  wounds  their  consciences 
feel.  The  performance  of  their  social  and 
religious   duties    seems   sufficient,   in    their 


144  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

view,  to  entitle  them  to  the  character  of  reli- 
gious men ;  and  they  are  satisfied.  Thus  it 
was  with  Paul,  who  considered  himself,  as 
touching  the  righteousness  which  is  of  the 
law,  blameless.  But  all  his  strictness  of  mo- 
ral duty  and  religious  observance,  was  disco- 
vered to  be  worthless,  so  far  as  satisfying  the 
demands  of  God  is  concerned.  And  every 
man,  who  is  brought  to  accept  the  offer  of 
salvation  as  presented  in  the  gospel,  is  made 
to  feel  that  it  is  not  for  any  thing  which  he 
either  does  or  abstains  from  doing,  that  his 
sins  are  pardoned  and  his  person  accepted 
before  God.  Nay,  he  sees  that  what  men 
call  their  good  works  are  so  impure,  as  to  be 
themselves  a  ground  of  condemnation.  What 
are  cold,  wandering,  selfish,  irreverent  pray- 
ers, but  offences  against  God,  whom  we  pre- 
tend to  propitiate,  by  services  which  are  but 
a  mockery  of  his  holiness  ?  And  what  is  any 
routine  of  heartless  observances,  or  if  not 
heartless,  at  least  so  imperfect  as  to  fail  of  se- 
curing even  our  own  approbation,  in  the  eyes 
of  him  before  whom  the  heavens  are  unclean  ? 
What  approach  can  such  services  make  either 
towards  satisfying  the  present  demands  of 
God,  or  atoning  for  years  of  neglect  and  sin  ? 
It  requires  but  little  insight  into  the  state  of 


CONVICTION  OT  SIN.  145 

his  own  heart,  or  the  real  character  of  the 
divine  law,  to  convince  the  sinner  that  he 
must  have  a  better  righteousness  than  that 
which  consists  of  his  own  duties  or  ob- 
servances. 

From  this  foundation  of  sand  the  con- 
vinced sinner  is,  therefore,  soon  driven,  but 
he  betakes  himself  to  another  refuge  nearer 
the  cross,  as  he  supposes,  and  which  seems 
to  require  more  self-renunciation.  He  ceases 
to  think  of  establishing  his  own  righteous- 
ness, but  he  still  wishes  to  be  made  worthy  to 
receive  the  righteousness  of  God.  He  knows 
that  he  can  never  cancel  his  debt  of  guilt, 
that  his  best  services  are  unworthy  of  accep- 
tance, that  with  all  his  circumspection  he 
never  lives  a  day  in  full  compliance  with  the 
just  demands  of  the  law,  and  consequently 
that  his  salvation  must  be  of  grace,  but  he 
still  thinks  he  must  in  some  way  merit  that 
grace,  or  at  least,  be  prepared  by  some  ob- 
servance or  some  experience  for  its  reception. 
The  distressed  soul  imagines  that  if  it  could 
be  more  distressed,  more  humbled,  more 
touched  with  sorrow  or  remorse,  it  might 
then  find  acceptance.  It  sees  that  its  long 
course  of  disobedience  and  ingratitude,  its 
rejection  of  Christ,  its  disregard  of  mercies 
13 


146  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

and  warnings,  its  thousand  sins  of  commis- 
sion and  omission,  if  forgiven  at  all,  must  be 
gratuitously  pardoned,  but  this  hardness  of 
heart,  this  want  of  due  tenderness  and  peni- 
tence, is  a  sin  which  must  first  be  got  out  of 
the  way,  before  the  others  can  be  remitted. 
It  is,  however,  only  one  of  the  long,  black 
catalogue.  It  can  no  more  be  separately  con- 
quered or  atoned  for,  before  coming  to  Christ, 
than  any  other  sin  of  heart  or  life.  It  is  often 
long  before  the  soul  is  brought  to  see  this,  or 
to  feel  that  it  is  really  endeavouring  to  make 
itself  better  before  applying  to  the  physician ; 
to  accomplish  at  least  some  preparatory  part 
of  salvation  for  itself,  so  as  not  to  be  entirely 
indebted  to  the  Redeemer.  At  last,  however, 
the  soul  discovers  its  mistake;  it  finds  that 
Christ  does  not  save  sinners  for  their  tender- 
ness or  conviction,  that  tears  are  not  more 
worthy  of  acceptance,  than  fasting,  or  alms- 
giving ;  that  it  is  the  unworthy,  the  hard- 
hearted, the  ungodly,  those  who  have  nothing 
to  recommend  them,  that  Christ  came  to  save, 
and  whom  he  accepts  in  order  to  render  them 
contrite  and  tender-hearted  and  obedient. 
These  graces  are  his  gifts,  and  if  we  stay 
away  from  him  until  we  get  them  ourselves, 
we  must  perish  in  our  sins.     To  this  entire 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  147 

self-renunciation,  this  absolute  rejection  of 
every  thing  in  itself  as  the  ground,  or  reason 
of  its  acceptance,  must  the  soul  be  brought 
before  it  embraces  the  offers  of  the  gospel. 

It  is  included  in  what  has  been  said  that 
a  consciousness  of  our  own  weakness  is  a 
necessary  ingredient,  or  consequence  of  true 
conviction.  There  is  not  only  a  giving  up 
of  our  own  righteousness,  but  of  our  own 
strength.  All  that  is  necessary  here  as  on 
other  points,  is  that  we  should  feel  what  is 
true.  If  it  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible  that 
the  sinner  can  change  his  own  heart,  sub- 
due his  sins,  excite  all  right  affections,  then 
genuine  religious  experience  requires  that 
this  truth  should  be  known,  not  merely  as  a 
matter  of  speculation,  but  as  a  matter  of  con- 
sciousness. But  if  the  Scriptures  teach  that 
this  change  of  heart  is  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit;  that  we  are  born  not  of  the  will  of 
man  but  of  God;  that  it  is  the  exceeding 
greatness  of  the  divine  power  that  operates 
in  them  that  believe,  quickening  those  who 
were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  creating 
them  anew  in  Christ  Jesus,  so  that  they  are 
his  workmanship,  created  unto  good  works ; 
if  from  one  end  of  the  Scriptures  to  the  other, 
the  internal  work  of  salvation  is  declared  to 


148  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

be  not  by  the  might,  or  power  of  man,  but 
by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  then  is  this  one  of 
the  great  truths  of  revelation  of  which  we 
must  be  convinced.  Our  experience  must 
accord  with  this  representation,  and  we  must 
feel  that  to  be  true  in  our  case,  which  God 
declares  to  be  true  universally. 

When  a  man  is  brought  to  feel  that  he  is  a 
sinner,  that  his  heart  is  far  from  being  right 
in  the  sight  of  God,  he  as  naturally  turns  to 
his  own  strength  to  effect  a  change,  and  to 
bring  himself  up  to  the  standard  of  the  law, 
as  he  turns  to  his  own  works  as  a  compen- 
sation for  his  sins,  or  as  a  ground  of  confi- 
dence towards  God.  His  efforts,  therefore, 
are  directed  to  subdue  the  power  of  sin,  and 
to  excite  religious  feelings  in  his  heart.  He 
endeavours  to  mortify  pride,  to  subdue  the 
influence  of  the  body,  to  wean  himself  from 
the  world.  He  gives  up  his  sinful,  or  world- 
ly associates;  he  strengthens  his  purposes 
against  evil ;  he  forces  himself  to  discharge 
the  most  ungrateful  duties,  and  exercises 
himself  in  self-denial.  At  the  same  time  he 
tries  to  force  himself  into  a  right  state  of 
mind,  to  make  himself  believe,  repent,  love 
and  exercise  all  the  Christian  graces  of  meek- 
ness, humility,  brotherly  kindness  and  cha- 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  149 

rity ;  that  is,  he  tries  to  make  himself  reli- 
gious.    He    does   every   thing    in  his    ov^n 
strength   and  to   save  himself.     Sometimes 
this  course  is  pursued  to  the  end  of  life.     At 
others,  it  is  continued  for  years,  and  then 
found  to  be  all  in  vain.    Wesley  tells  us  this 
wa.s  the  kind  of  religion  which  he  had,  until 
his  visit  to  America  and  his  intercourse  vs^ith 
the  Moravians.     This  is  the  religion  of  as- 
cetics, w^hich  may  be  persevered  in,  through 
stress  of  conscience,  or  fear  of  perdition,  v^^ith 
great  strictness  and  constancy.    Almost  every 
man  makes  trial  of  it.     He  v^ill  be  his  ov^n 
saviour,  if  he  can.     It  is  found,  hovrever,  by 
those  w^ho  are  taught  of  God,  to  be  a  hopeless 
task.     The  subtle  evil  of  the  heart  is  not  to 
be  subdued  by  any  such  efforts.     If  we  force 
ourselves  to  forego  the  pleasures  of  sin,  v^e 
cannot  destroy  the  desire  of  forbidden  joys. 
If  we  refuse  to  gratify  pride,  we  cannot  pre- 
vent its   aspirations.     If  we  relinquish   the 
pursuit  of  worldly  things,  we  still  retain  the 
love  of  the  world.     If  we  force  ourselves  to 
perform   religious   duties,   we   cannot  make 
those  duties  a  delight.     If  we  compel  our- 
selves to  think  of  God,  we  cannot  force  our- 
selves to  love  him,  to  desire  communion  with 
him,  to  take  pleasure  in  his  service,  and  to 
13^ 


150  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

delight  in  all  his  requirements.  No  one  can 
tell  the  misery  arising  from  these  painful  and 
ineffectual  struggles ;  these  vain  attempts  to 
subdue  sin  and  excite  the  Christian  graces. 
If  any  thing  could  be  taken  as  a  substitute 
for  them ;  if  making  many  prayers,  or  sub- 
mitting to  any  suffering,  could  be  taken  as 
an  equivalent,  it  would  be  gladly  acceded  to. 
But  to  change  the  heart,  to  delight  in  God, 
to  be  really  spiritual  and  holy,  is  a  work  the 
sinner  finds  to  be  above  his  strength  and  yet 
absolutely  necessary.  Repeated  failures  do 
not  destroy  his  delusion ;  he  still  thinks  that 
this  is  his  work  and  that  he  must  do  it,  or  be 
lost.  He,  therefore,  struggles  on,  he  collects 
all  his  strength,  and  at  length  suddenly  dis- 
covers it  to  be  perfect  weakness.  He  finds 
that  if  he  is  ever  renewed  and  made  holy,  it 
must  be  the  work  of  God,  and  he  cries  in  the 
depth  of  his  distress.  Lord  save  me,  or  I 
perish.  He  gives  up  working  in  his  own 
strength  and  sees,  what  he  wonders  he  never 
saw  before,  that  the  Christian  virtues  are 
really  graces,  i.  e.  gifts;  that  they  are  not 
excellencies  to  be  wrought  out  by  ourselves ; 
but  favours  bestowed  through  Christ  and  for 
Christ's  sake ;  that  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  pur- 
chased and  sent  by  Him  that  is  to  change 


CONVICTION  OF  SIN.  151 

the  heart  and  convince  of  sin,  righteousness 
and  judgment;  that  faith,  repentance,  joj, 
peace,  humility  and  meekness  are  the  fruits 
of  that  Spirit,  and  not  the  products  of  our 
own  evil  hearts ;  that  if  v^e  could  make  our- 
selves holy,  v^e  should  scarcely  need  a  Sa- 
viour ;  and  that  it  is  the  greatest  of  all  delu- 
sions to  suppose  that  we  must  be  holy  before 
we  come  to  God  through  Christ,  instead  of 
holiness  being  the  result  of  our  reconcilia- 
tion. While  we  are  under  the  law,  we  bring 
forth  fruit  unto  death.  It  is  not  until  we  are 
free  from  the  law  and  reconciled  to  God  by 
the  death  of  his  Son,  that  we  bring  forth  fruit 
unto  righteousness.  This  great  truth,  though 
written  on  every  page  of  the  Bible,  every 
man  has  to  learn  for  himself.  He  cannot  be 
made  to  understand  it  by  reading  it  in  the 
Scriptures,  or  by  being  told  it  by  others.  He 
must  try  his  own  strength  until  he  finds  it  to 
be  nothing,  before  he  submits  to  be  saved  by 
the  grace  of  God,  and  bowing  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus,  in  utter  despair  of  any  other  helper, 
says.  Lord  if  thou  wilt,  thou  canst  make  me 
clean. 

The  man,  therefore,  whom  the  Holy  Ghost 
convinces  of  sin,  he  causes  to  understand  and 
believe  what  God  has  revealed  on  this  sub- 


152  CONVICTION  OF  SIN. 

ject.  He  makes  him  feel  that  what  He  de- 
clares to  be  true  of  all  men,  is  true  of  him ; 
that  he  deserves  what  God  declares  all  men 
deserve ;  that  he  has  no  merit  to  recommend 
him  to  God  and  no  strength  to  change  his 
own  heart.  This  knowledge  the  Spirit  com- 
municates through  the  law,  which  by  pre- 
senting the  perfect  rule  of  duty,  shows  us 
how  far  short  we  come  of  the  glory  of  God, 
and  how  often  and  justly  we  have  incurred 
its  penalty ;  which  convinces  us  that  we  are 
entirely  unable  to  comply  with  its  righteous 
demand,  and  that  no  mere  objective  presenta- 
tion of  what  is  holy,  just  and  good,  can  change 
the  heart,  or  destroy  the  power  of  in-dwelling 
sin ;  since  even  when  we  see  the  excellence 
of  the  law,  we  do  not  conform  to  it,  and  can- 
not do  the  things  that  we  would,  but  ever 
find  a  law  in  our  members  warring  against 
the  law  of  our  minds,  and  bringing  us  into 
subjection  to  the  law  of  sin.  It  is  thus  that 
the  law  is  a  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  to 
Christ ;  to  drive  us  from  every  refuge  of  our 
own  righteousness  and  strength,  to  Him  who 
is  made  of  God,  unto  those  that  believe,  both 
justification  and  sanctification. 


CHAPTER  V. 


JUSTIFICATION. 


Section  I.  Importance  of  the  doctrine. 
Explanation  of  the  Scriptural  terms  relating 
to  it.     Justification  is  not  by  works. 

The  state  of  mind  described  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  cannot  be  long  endured. 
Some  way  of  satisfying  the  demands  of  con- 
science must  be  adopted.  When  the  mind 
is  enlightened  by  divine  truth  and  duly  im- 
pressed with  a  sense  of  guilt,  it  cannot  fail 
anxiously  to  inquire,  How  can  a  man  be  just 
with  God  ?  The  answer  given  to  this  ques- 
tion decides  the  character  of  our  religion,  and 
if  practically  adopted,  our  future  destiny. 
To  give  a  wrong  answer,  is  to  mistake  the 
way  to  heaven.  It  is  to  err  where  error  is 
fatal,  because  it  cannot  be  corrected.  If  God 
require  one  thing  and  we  present  another, 
how  can  we  be  saved  ?  If  he  has  revealed  a 
method  in  which  he  can  be  just  and  yet  jus- 
tify the  sinner,  and  if  we  reject  that  method 


IM  JUSTIFICATION. 

and  insist  upon  pursuing  a  different  way,  how 
can  we  hope  to  be  accepted  ?  The  answer, 
therefore,  which  is  given  to  the  above  ques- 
tion should  be  seriously  pondered  by  all  who 
assume  the  office  of  religious  teachers,  and  by 
all  who  rely  upon  their  instructions.  As  we 
are  not  to  be  judged  by  proxy,  but  every  man 
must  answ^er  for  himself,  so  every  man  should 
be  satisfied  for  himself  what  the  Bible  teaches 
on  this  subject.  All  that  religious  teachers 
can  do,  is  to  endeavour  to  aid  the  investiga- 
tions of  those  who  are  anxious  to  learn  the 
way  of  life.  And  in  doing  this,  the  safest 
method  is  to  adhere  strictly  to  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  Scriptures,  and  exhibit  the  sub- 
ject as  it  is  there  presented.  The  substance 
and  the  form  of  this  all-important  doctrine  are 
so  intimately  connected,  that  those  who  at- 
tempt to  separate  them,  can  hardly  fail  to  err. 
What  one  discards  as  belonging  merely  to  the 
form,  another  considers  as  belonging  to  its 
substance.  All  certainty  and  security  are 
lost,  as  soon  as  this  method  is  adopted,  and  it 
becomes  a  matter  to  be  decided,  exclusively 
by  our  own  views  of  right  and  wrong,  what 
is  to  be  retained  and  what  rejected  from  the 
Scriptural  representations.  Our  only  securi- 
» ty,  therefore,  is  to  take  the  language  of  the 


JUSTIFICATION.  155 

Bible  in  its  obvious  meaning,  and  put  upon 
it  the  construction  which  the  persons  to  whom 
it  was  addressed  must  have  given,  and  which, 
consequently,  the  sacred  writers  intended  it 
should  bear. 

As  the  doctrine  of  justification  is  not  only 
frequently  stated  in  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
but  formally  taught  and  vindicated,  all  that 
will  be  attempted  in  this  chapter,  is  to  give, 
as  faithfully  as  possible,  a  representation  of 
what  the  inspired  writers  inculcate  on  this 
subject ;  that  is,  to  state  what  positions  they 
assume,  by  what  arguments  they  sustain 
those  positions,  how  they  answer  the  objec- 
tions to  their  doctrine,  and  what  application 
they  make  of  it  to  the  hearts  and  consciences 
of  their  readers. 

It  is  one  of  the  primary  doctrines  of  the 
Bible,  everywhere  either  asserted  or  assumed, 
that  we  are  under  the  law  of  God.  This  is 
true  of  all  classes  of  men,  whether  they  enjoy 
a  divine  revelation  or  not.  Every  thing 
which  God  has  revealed  as  a  rule  of  duty, 
enters  into  the  constitution  of  the  law  which 
binds  those  to  whom  that  revelation  is  given, 
and  by  which  they  are  to  be  ultimately 
judged.  Those  who  have  not  received  any 
external  revelation  of  the  divine  Avill,  are  a 


156  JUSTIFICATION. 

law  unto  themselves.  The  knowledge  of 
right  and  wrong,  written  upon  their  hearts, 
is  of  the  nature  of  a  divine  law,  having  its 
authority  and  sanction,  and  by  it  the  heathen 
are  to  be  judged  in  the  last  day. 

God  has  seen  fit  to  annex  the  promise  of 
life  to  obedience  to  his  law.  The  man  that 
doeth  these  things  shall  live  by  them,*  is  the 
language  of  Scripture  on  this  subject.  To 
the  lawyer  who  admitted  that  the  law  re- 
quired love  to  God  and  man,  our  Saviour 
said.  Thou  hast  answered  right.  This  do, 
and  thou  shalt  live.f  And  to  one  who  asked 
him.  What  good  thing  shall  I  do  that  I  may 
have  eternal  life?  he  said.  If  thou  wouldst 
enter  into  life,  keep  the  commandments.  J 
On  the  other  hand,  the  law  denounces  death 
as  the  penalty  of  transgression.  The  wages 
of  sin  is  death.  Such  is  the  uniform  declara- 
tion of  Scripture  on  this  subject. 

The  obedience  which  the  law  demands,  is 
called  righteousness;  and  those  who  render 
that  obedience  are  called  righteous.  To  as- 
cribe righteousness  to  any  one,  or  to  pro- 
nounce him  righteous,  is  the  scriptural  mean- 
ing of  the  word  to  justify.  The  word  never 
means  to  make  good  in  a  moral  sense,  but 

*  Rom.  X.  5.  t  Luke  x.  28.  |  Matt.  xix.  17. 


JUSTIFICATION.  157 

always  to  pronounce  just  or  righteous.  Thus 
God  says,  I  will  not  justify  the  wicked.* 
Judges  are  commanded  to  justify  the  righte- 
ous and  to  condemn  the  wicked. f  Wo  is 
pronounced  on  those  who  justify  the  wicked 
for  a  reward. f  In  the  New  Testament  it  is 
said,  By  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh 
be  justified  in  his  sight.  ^  It  is  God  who  jus- 
tifieth,  who  is  he  that  condemneth?||  There 
is  scarcely  a  word  in  the  Bible  the  meaning 
of  which  is  less  open  to  doubt.  There  is  no 
passage  in  the  New  Testament  in  which  it  is 
used  out  of  its  ordinary  and  obvious  sense. IT 
When  God  justifies  a  man,  he  declares  him 
to  be  righteous.  To  justify  never  means  to 
render  one  holy.  It  is  said  to  be  sinful  to 
justify  the  wicked ;  but  it  could  never  be  sin- 
ful to  render  the  wicked  holy.  And  as  the 
law  demands  righteousness,  to  impute  or  as- 
cribe righteousness  to  any  one,  is,  in  scriptu- 
ral language,  to  justify.  To  make  (or  con- 
stitute) righteous,  is  another  equivalent  form 
of  expression.  Hence  to  be  righteous  before 
God,  and  to  be  justified,  mean  the  same  thing ; 

*  Ex.  xxiii.  7.  f  Deut.  xxv.  1.  |  Is.  v.  23. 

5  Rom.  iii.  20.  ||  Rom  viii.  33,  34. 

H  Revelation  xxii.   11,  is  probably  no  exception  to  this  re- 
mark, as  the  text  in  that  passage  is  uncertain. 

14 


158  JUSTIFICATION. 

as  in  the  following  passage,  Not  the  hearers 
of  the  law  are  righteous  before  God,  but  the 
doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified.*  The  at- 
tentive, and  especially  the  anxious  reader  of 
the  Bible  cannot  fail  to  observe  that  these  va- 
rious expressions,  to  be  righteous  in  the  sight 
of  God,  to  impute  righteousness,  to  constitute 
righteous,  to  justify,  and  others  of  similar  im- 
port, are  so  interchanged  as  to  explain  each 
other,  and  to  make  it  clear  that  to  justify  a 
man  is  to  ascribe  or  impute  to  him  righteous- 
ness. The  great  question  then  is.  How  is 
this  righteousness  to  be  obtained  ?  We  have 
reason  to  be  thankful  that  the  answer  which 
the  Bible  gives  to  this  question  is  so  perfectly 
plain. 

In  the  first  place,  that  the  righteousness  by 
which  we  are  to  be  justified  before  God,  is 
not  of  works,  is  not  only  asserted  but  proved. 
The  apostle's  first  argument  on  this  point  is 
derived  from  the  consideration  that  the  law 
demands  a  perfect  righteousness.  If  the  law 
were  satisfied  by  an  imperfect  obedience,  or 
by  a  routine  of  external  duties,  or  by  any  ser- 
vice which  men  are  competent  to  render,  then 
indeed  justification  would  be  by  works.  But 
since  it  demands  perfect  obedience,  justifica- 

*Rom.  ii.  13. 


JUSTIFICATION.  159 

tion  by  works  is,  for  sinners,  absolutely  im- 
possible. It  is  thus  the  apostle  reasons.* 
As  many  as  are  of  the  works  of  the  law,  are 
under  the  curse.  For  it  is  written.  Cursed  is 
every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things 
written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them. 
As  the  law  pronounces  its  curse  upon  every 
man  who  continues  not  to  do  all  that  it  com- 
mands, and  as  no  man  can  pretend  to  this 
perfect  obedience,  it  follows  that  all  who  look 
to  the  law  for  justification  must  be  condemn- 
ed. To  the  same  effect  in  the  following 
verse,  he  says.  The  law  is  not  of  faith,  but 
the  man  that  doeth  them  shall  live  by  them. 
That  is,  the  law  is  not  satisfied  by  any  single 
grace  or  imperfect  obedience.  It  knows  and 
can  know  no  other  ground  of  justification 
than  complete  compliance  with  its  demands. 
Hence  in  the  same  chapter,  Paul  says.  If 
there  had  been  a  law  which  could  have  given 
life,  verily  righteousness  would  have  been  by 
the  law.  Could  the  law  pronounce  righte- 
ous, and  thus  give  a  title  to  the  promised  life 
to  those  who  had  broken  its  commands,  there 
would  have  been  no  necessity  of  any  other 
provision  for  the  salvation  of  men ;  but  as  the 
law  cannot  thus  lower  its  demands,  justifica- 

*  Gal.  iii.  10. 


160  JUSTIFICATION. 

tion  by  the  law  is  impossible.  The  same 
truth  is  taught  in  a  different  form,  when  it  is 
said,  If  righteousness  come  by  the  law,  Christ 
is  dead  in  vain.^  There  would  have  been 
no  necessity  for  the  death  of  Christ,  if  it  had 
been  possible  to  satisfy  the  law  by  the  imper- 
fect obedience  which  we  can  render.  Paul 
therefore  warns  all  those  who  look  to  works 
for  justification,  that  they  are  debtors  to  do 
the  whole  law.f  It  knows  no  compromise; 
it  cannot  demand  less  than  what  is  right,  and 
perfect  obedience  is  right,  and  therefore  its 
only  language  is  as  before,  Cursed  is  every 
one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  written 
in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them ;  and.  The 
man  that  doeth  those  things  shall  live  by 
them.  Every  man,  therefore,  who  expects 
justification  by  works,  must  see  to  it,  not  that 
he  is  better  than  other  men,  or  that  he  is  very 
exact  and  does  many  things,  or  that  he  fasts 
twice  in  the  week,  and  gives  tithes  of  all  he 
possesses,  but  that  he  is  sinless. 

That  the  law  of  God  is  thus  strict  in  its 
demands,  is  a  truth  which  lies  at  the  founda- 
tion of  all  Paul's  reasoning  in  reference  to  the 
method  of  justification.  He  proves  that  the 
Gentiles  have  sinned  against  the  law  written 

*  Gal.  ii.  21.  t  Gal.  v.  3. 


JUSTIFICATION.  161 

on  their  hearts ;  and  that  the  Jews  have  bro- 
ken the  law  revealed  in  their  Scriptures;  * 
both  Jews  and  Gentiles  therefore  are  nnder 
sin,  and  the  whole  world  is  guilty  before  God. 
Hence  he  infers  that  by  the  deeds  of  the  law 
there  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  his  sight. 
There  is  however  no  force  in  this  reasoning, 
except  on  the  assumption,  that  the  law  de- 
mands perfect  obedience.  How  many  men, 
who  freely  acknowledge  that  they  are  sin- 
ners, depend  upon  their  works  for  acceptance 
with  God!  They  see  no  inconsistency  be- 
tween the  acknowledgment  of  sin,  and  the 
expectation  of  justification  by  works.  The 
reason  is,  they  proceed  upon  a  very  different 
principle  from  that  adopted  by  the  apostle. 
They  suppose  that  the  law  may  be  satisfied 
by  very  imperfect  obedience.  Paul  assumes 
that  God  demands  perfect  conformity  to  his 
will,  that  his  wrath  is  revealed  against  all  un- 
godliness and  unrighteousness  of  men.  With 
him  therefore  it  is  enough  that  men  have 
sinned,  to  prove  that  they  cannot  be  justified 
by  works.  It  is  not  a  question  of  degrees, 
more  or  less,  for  as  to  this  point  there  is  no 
difference,  since  all  have  sinned,  and  come 
short  of  the  glory  of  God. 

This  doctrine,  though  so  plainly  taught  in 
14^ 


162  JUSTIFICATION. 

Scripture,  men  are  disposed  to  think  very  se- 
vere. They  imagine  that  their  good  deeds 
vi^ill  be  compared  vv^ith  their  evil  deeds,  and 
that  they  v^ill  be  rewarded  or  punished  as  the 
one  class  or  the  other  preponderates ;  or  that 
the  sins  of  one  part  of  life  may  be  atoned  for 
by  the  good  works  of  another ;  or  that  they 
can  escape  by  mere  confession  and  repent- 
ance. They  could  not  entertain  such  expec- 
tations, if  they  believed  themselves  to  be  un- 
der a  law.  No  human  law  is  administered 
as  men  seem  to  hope  the  law  of  God  will  be. 
He  who  steals  or  murders,  though  it  be  but 
once,  though  he  confesses  and  repents,  though 
he  does  any  number  of  acts  of  charity,  is  not 
less  a  thief  or  murderer.  The  law  cannot 
take  cognizance  of  his  repentance  and  refor- 
mation. If  he  steals  or  murders,  the  law 
condemns  him.  Justification  by  the  law  is 
for  him  impossible.  The  law  of  God  extends 
to  the  most  secret  exercises  of  the  heart.  It 
condemns  whatever  is  in  its  nature  evil.  If 
a  man  violate  this  perfect  rule  of  right,  there 
is  an  end  of  justification  by  the  law ;  he  has 
failed  to  comply  with  its  conditions;  and  the 
law  can  only  condemn  him.  To  justify  him, 
would  be  to  say  that  he  had  not  transgressed. 
Men  however  think  that  they  are  not  to  be 


JUSTIFICATION.  163 

dealt  with  on  the  principles  of  strict  law. 
Here  is  their  fatal  mistake.  It  is  here  that 
they  are  in  most  direct  conflict  with  the 
Scriptures,  which  proceed  upon  the  uniform 
assumption  of  our  subjection  to  the  law. 
Under  the  government  of  God,  strict  law  is 
nothing  but  perfect  excellence;  it  is  the 
steady  exercise  of  moral  rectitude.  Even 
conscience,  when  duly  enlightened  and 
roused,  is  as  strict  as  the  law  of  God.  It  re- 
fuses to  be  appeased  by  repentance,  refor- 
mation, or  penance.  It  enforces  every  com- 
mand and  every  denunciation  of  our  Supreme 
Ruler,  and  teaches,  as  plainly  as  do  the 
Scriptures  themselves,  that  justification  by 
an  imperfect  obedience  is  impossible.  As 
conscience  however  is  fallible,  no  reliance  on 
this  subject  is  placed  on  her  testimony.  The 
appeal  is  to  the  word  of  God ;  which  clearly 
teaches  that  it  is  impossible  a  sinner  can  be 
justified  by  works,  because  the  law  demands 
perfect  obedience. 

The  apostle's  second  argument  to  show 
that  justification  is  not  by  works,  is  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament. 
This  testimony  is  urged  in  various  forms. 
In  the  first  place,  as  the  apostle  proceeds 
upon  the  principle  that  the  law  demands  per- 


164  JUSTIFICATION. 

feet  obedience,  all  those  passages,  which  as- 
sert the  universal  sinfulness  of  men,  are  so 
many  declarations  that  they  cannot  be  justi- 
fied by  works.  He  therefore  quotes  such 
passages  as  the  following :  There  is  none 
righteous,  no  not  one.  There  is  none  that 
understandeth,  there  is  none  that  seeketh 
after  God.  They  are  all  gone  out  of  the 
way;  they  are  altogether  become  unprofita- 
ble; there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no  not 
one.*  The  Old  Testament,  by  teaching  that 
all  men  are  sinners,  does,  in  the  apostle's 
view,  thereby  teach  that  they  can  never  be 
accepted  before  God  on  the  ground  of  their 
own  righteousness.  To  say  that  a  man  is  a 
sinner,  is  to  say  that  the  law  condemns  him ; 
and  of  course  it  cannot  justify  him.  As  the 
ancient  Scriptures  are  full  of  declarations  of 
the  sinfulness  of  men,  so  they  are  full  of  proof 
that  justification  is  not  by  works. 

But  in  the  second  place,  Paul  cites  their 
direct  affirmative  testimony  in  support  of  his 
doctrine.  In  the  Psalms  it  is  said,  Enter  not 
into  judgment  with  thy  servant;  for  in  thy 
sight  shall  no  man  living  be  justified.!  This 
passage  he  often  quotes ;  and  to  the  same  class 
belong  all  those  passages  which  speak  of  the 

*  Rom.  iii.  10—12.  t  Ps.  cxliii.  2. 


JUSTIFICATION.  166 

insufficiency  or  worthlessness  of  human  righ- 
teousness in  the  sight  of  God. 

In  the  third  place,  the  apostle  refers  to 
those  passages  which  imply  the  doctrine  for 
which  he  contends;  that  is,  to  those  which 
speak  of  the  acceptance  of  men  with  God  as 
a  matter  of  grace,  as  something  which  they 
do  not  deserve,  and  for  which  they  can  urge 
no  claim  founded  upon  their  own  merit.     It 
is  with  this  view  that  he  refers  to  the  lan- 
guage of  David ;  Blessed  are  they  whose  ini- 
quities are  forgiven,  and  whose  sins  are  cover- 
ed.    Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord 
will  not  impute  sin.^     The  fact  that  a  man  is 
forgiven,  implies  that  he  is  guilty;  and  the 
fact  that  he  is  guilty,  implies  that  his  justifi- 
cation cannot  rest  upon  his  own  character  or 
conduct.     It  need  hardly  be  remarked,  that 
in  this  view,  the  whole  Scriptures,  from  be- 
ginning to  the  end,  are  crowded  with  condem- 
nations  of  the   doctrine   of  justification   by 
works.     Every  penitent  confession,  every  ap- 
peal to  God's  mercy,  is  a  renunciation  of  all 
personal  merit,  a  declaration  that  the  peni- 
tent's hope  was  not  founded  on  any  thing  in 
himself.     Such  confessions  and  appeals  are 
indeed  often  made  by  those  who  still  rely 

*  Rom.  iv.  7,  8. 


166  JUSTIFICATION. 

upon  their  good  works,  or  inherent  righteous- 
ness, for  acceptance  with  God.  This,  how- 
ever, does  not  invalidate  the  apostle's  argu- 
ment. It  only  shows  that  such  persons  have 
a  different  view  of  what  is  necessary  for  justi- 
fication, from  that  entertained  by  the  apostle. 
They  suppose  that  the  demands  of  the  law 
are  so  low,  that  although  they  are  sinners  and 
need  to  be  forgiven,  they  can  still  do  what  the 
law  demands.  Whereas,  Paul  proceeds  on 
the  assumption  that  the  law  requires  perfect 
obedience,  and  therefore  every  confession  of 
sin,  or  appeal  for  mercy,  involves  a  renuncia- 
tion of  justification  by  the  law. 

Again,  the  apostle  represents  the  Old  Tes- 
tament as  teaching  that  justification  is  not  by 
works,  by  showing  that  they  inculcate  a  dif- 
ferent method  of  obtaining  acceptance  with 
God.  This  they  do  by  the  doctrine  which 
they  teach  concerning  the  Messiah  as  a  Re- 
deemer from  sin.  Hence  Paul  says,  that  the 
method  of  justification  without  works,  (not 
founded  upon  works,)  was  testified  by  the 
law  and  the  prophets,  that  is,  by  the  whole  of 
the  Old  Testament.  The  two  methods  of 
acceptance  with  God,  the  one  by  works,  the 
other  by  a  propitiation  for  sin,  are  incompati- 
ble.    And   as  the  ancient  Scriptures  teach 


JUSTIFICATION.  167 

the  latter  method,  they  repudiate  the  former. 
But  they  moreover,  in  express  terms,  assert, 
That  the  just  shall  live  by  faith.  And  the 
law  knows  nothing  of  faith ;  its  language  is. 
The  man  that  doeth  them  shall  live  by  them.* 
The  law  knows  nothing  of  any  thing  but  obe- 
dience as  the  ground  of  acceptance.  If  the 
Scriptures  say  we  are  accepted  through  faith, 
they  thereby  say  that  we  are  not  accepted  on 
the  ground  of  obedience. 

Again,  the  examples  of  justification  given 
in  the  Old  Testament,  show  that  it  was  not 
by  works.  The  apostle  appeals  particularly 
to  the  case  of  Abraham,  and  asks.  Whether 
he  attained  justification  by  works?  and  an- 
swers, No,  for  if  he  were  justified  by  works 
he  had  whereof  to  glory,  but  he  had  no 
ground  of  glorying  before  God,  and,  there- 
fore, he  was  not  justified  by  works.  And  the 
Scriptures  expressly  assert,  Abraham  believed 
God,  and  it  was  imputed  to  him  for  righte- 
ousness. His  acceptance,  therefore,  was  by 
faith  and  not  by  works. 

In  all  these  various  ways,  does  the  apostle 
make  the  authority  of  the  Old  Testament 
sustain  his  doctrine  that  justification  is  not  by 
works.     This  authority  is  as  decisive  for  us 

'*GaL  iii.  11,  12. 


168  JUSTIFICATION. 

as  it  was  for  the  ancient  Jewish  Christians. 
We  also  believe  the  Old  Testament  to  be  the 
word  of  God,  and  its  truths  come  to  us  ex- 
plained and  enforced  by  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles. We  have  the  great  advantage  of  an  in- 
fallible interpretation  of  these  early  oracles 
of  truth,  and  the  argumentative  manner  in 
which  their  authority  is  cited  and  applied, 
prevents  all  obscurity  as  to  the  real  inten- 
tions of  the  sacred  writers.  That  by  the 
deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  shall  be  justified 
before  God,  is  taught  so  clearly  and  so  fre- 
quently in  the  New  Testament,  it  is  so  often 
asserted,  so  formally  proved,  so  variously  as- 
sumed, that  no  one  can  doubt  that  such  is 
indeed  the  doctrine  of  the  word  of  God.  The 
only  point  on  which  the  serious  inquirer  can 
even  raise  a  question,  is  what  kind  of  works 
do  the  Scriptures  mean  to  exclude  as  the 
foundation  for  acceptance  with  God.  Does 
the  apostle  mean  works  in  the  widest  sense, 
or  does  he  merely  intend  ceremonial  observ- 
ances, or  works  of  mere  formality  performed 
without  any  real  love  to  God  ? 

Those  who  attend  to  the  nature  of  his  as- 
sertions, and  to  the  course  of  his  argument, 
will  find  that  there  is  no  room  for  doubt  on 
this    subject.      The    primary    principle    on 


JUSTIFICATION.  169 

which  his  argument  rests  precludes  all 
ground  for  mistaking  his  meaning.  He  as- 
sumes that  the  law  demands  perfect  obe- 
dience, and  as  no  man  can  render  that  obe- 
dience, he  infers  that  no  man  can  be  justified 
by  the  law.  He  does  not  argue  that  because 
the  law  is  spiritual  it  cannot  be  satisfied  by 
mere  ceremonies  or  by  works  flowing  from 
an  impure  motive.  He  no  where  says,  that 
though  we  cannot  be  justified  by  external 
rites,  or  by  works  having  the  mere  form  of 
goodness,  we  are  justified  by  our  sincere 
though  imperfect  obedience.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  constantly  teaches,  that  since  we  are 
sinners,  and  since  the  law  condemns  all  sin, 
it  condemns  us,  and  justification  by  the  law 
is,  therefore,  impossible.  This  argument  he 
applies  to  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles  without 
distinction,  to  the  whole  world,  whether  they 
knew  any  thing  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures  or 
not.  It  was  the  moral  law,  the  law  which 
he  pronounced  holy,  just  and  good,  which 
says.  Thou  shalt  not  covet;  it  is  this  law, 
however  revealed,  whether  in  the  writings  of 
Moses,  or  in  the  human  heart,  of  which  he 
constantly  asserts  that  it  cannot  give  life,  or 
teach  the  way  of  acceptance  with  God.  As 
most  of  those  to  whom  he  wrote  had  enjoyed 
15 


170  JUSTIFICATION. 

a  divine  revelation,  and  as  that  revelation  in- 
cluded the  lavr  of  Moses  and  all  its  rites,  he 
of  course  included  that  law  in  his  statement, 
and  often  specially  refers  to  it ;  but  never  in 
its  limited  sense  as  a  code  of  religious  cere- 
monies, but  always  in  its  widest  scope  as  in- 
cluding the  highest  rule  of  moral  duty  made 
known  to  men.  And  hence  he  never  con- 
trasts one  class  of  works  with  another,  but 
constantly  works  and  faith,  excluding  all 
classes  of  the  former,  works  of  righteousness 
as  well  as  those  of  mere  formality.  Not  by 
works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done, 
but  according  to  his  mercy  he  hath  saved 
us.*  Who  hath  saved  us,  not  according  to 
our  works,  t  We  are  saved  by  faith,  not  by 
works,  f  Nay,  men  are  said  to  be  justified 
without  works ;  to  be  in  themselves  ungodly 
when  justified ;  and  it  is  not  until  they  are 
justified  that  they  perform  any  really  good 
works.  It  is  only  when  united  to  Christ 
that  we  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God.  Hence 
we  are  said  to  be  his  workmanship,  created 
in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works.  All  the 
inward  excellence  of  the  Christian  and  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit  are  the  consequences  and 

*  Titus  iii.  5.  f  2  Tim.  i.  9.  J  Eph.  ii.  9. 


JUSTIFICATION.  171 

not  the  causes  of  his  reconciliation  and  ac- 
ceptance with  God.  They  are  the  robe  of 
beauty,  the  white  garment,  with  which 
Christ  arrays  those  who  come  to  him  poor 
and  blind  and  naked.  It  is  then  the  plain 
doctrine  of  the  word  of  God  that  our  justifi- 
cation is  not  founded  upon  our  own  obedience 
to  the  law.  Nothing  done  by  us  or  wrought 
in  us  can  for  a  moment  stand  the  test  of  a 
rule  of  righteousness  which  pronounces  a 
curse  upon  all  those,  who  continue  not  in  all 
things  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do 
them. 

Section  II.  The  demands  of  the  Lavj  are 
satisfied  by  what  Christ  has  done. 

We  have  thus  seen  that  the  Scriptures 
teach  first  that  all  men  are  naturally  under 
the  law  as  prescribing  the  terms  of  their  ac- 
ceptance with  God;  and  secondly,  that  no 
obedience  which  sinners  can  render  is  suffi- 
cient to  satisfy  the  demands  of  that  law.  It 
follows  then  that  unless  we  are  freed  from  the 
law,  not  as  a  rule  of  duty,  but  as  prescribing 
the  conditions  of  acceptance  with  God,  justi- 
fication is  for  us  impossible.  It  is,  therefore, 
the  third  great  point  of  Scriptural  doctrine  on 


172  JUSTIFICATION. 

this  subject,  that  behevers  are  free  from  the 
law  in  the  sense  just  stated.  Ye  are  not 
under  the  law,  says  the  apostle,  but  under 
grace.  ^  To  illustrate  this  declaration  he  re- 
fers to  the  case  of  a  woman  who  is  bound  to 
her  husband  as  long  as  he  lives,  but  when  he 
is  dead,  she  is  free  from  her  obligation  to  him, 
and  is  at  liberty  to  marry  another  man.  So 
we  are  delivered  from  the  law  as  a  rule  of 
justification,  and  are  at  liberty  to  embrace  a 
different  method  of  obtaining  acceptance  with 
God.f  Paul  says  of  himself, J  that  he  had 
died  to  the  law,  i.  e.  become  free  from  it. 
And  the  same  is  said  of  all  believers.  §  He 
insists  upon  this  freedom  as  essential  not  only 
to  justification  but  to  sanctification.  For 
while  under  the  law,  the  motions  of  sin, 
which  were  by  the  law,  brought  forth  fruit 
unto  death,  but  now  we  are  delivered  from 
the  law  that  we  may  serve  God  in  newness 
of  spirit.  II  Before  faith  came  we  were  kept 
under  the  law,  which  he  compares  to  a  school- 
master, but  now  we  are  no  longer  under  a 
schoolmaster.  TT  He  regards  the  desire  to  be 
subject  to  the  law  as  the  greatest  infatuation. 

*  Rom.  vi.  14.  t  Rom.  vii.  1 ,  6. 

I  Gal.  ii.  19.  5  Rom.  vii.  6. 

II  Rom.  vii.  5,  6.  IT  Gal.  iii.  24,  25. 


JUSTIFICATION.  173 

Tell  me,  he  says,  ye  that  desire  to  be  under 
the  law,  Do  ye  not  hear  the  law?  and  then 
shows  that  those  who  are  under  the  demands 
of  a  legal  system,  are  in  the  condition  of 
slaves  and  not  of  sons  and  heirs.  Stand  fast, 
therefore,  he  exhorts,  in  the  liberty  where- 
with Christ  hath  made  us  free.  Behold  I 
Paul  say  unto  you,  that  if  ye  be  circumcised, 
Christ  shall  profit  you  nothing.  For  I  testify 
to  every  one  that  is  circumcised,  that  he  is  a 
debtor  to  do  the  whole  law.  Christ  has  be- 
come of  no  effect  to  you ;  whosoever  of  you 
are  justified  by  the  law,  ye  are  fallen  from 
grace.  ^  This  infatuation  Paul  considered 
madness,  and  exclaims,  O  foolish  Galatians, 
who  hath  bewitched  you,  that  ye  should  not 
obey  the  truth,  before  whose  eyes  Jesus 
Christ  hath  been  evidently  set  forth,  cruci- 
fied among  you  ?  This  only  would  I  learn  of 
you.  Received  ye  the  Spirit  by  the  works  of 
the  law,  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith  ?f  This 
apostacy  was  so  fatal,  the  substitution  of  legal 
obedience  for  the  work  of  Christ  as  the 
ground  of  justification,  was  so  destructive, 
that  Paul  pronounces  accursed  any  man  or 
angel  who  should  preach  such  a  doctrine  for 
the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 

*  Gal.  V.  1—4.  t  Gal.  iii.  1,  2. 

15* 


174  JUSTIFICATION. 

It  was  to  the  law,  as  revealed  in  the  books 
of  Moses,  that  the  fickle  Galatians  were  dis- 
posed to  look  for  justification.  Their  apos- 
tacy,  however,  consisted  in  going  back  to  the 
law,  no  matter  in  what  form  revealed,  to 
works,  no  matter  of  what  kind,  as  the  ground 
of  justification.  The  apostle's  arguments  and 
denunciations,  therefore,  are  so  framed  as  to 
apply  to  the  adoption  of  any  form  of  legal 
obedience,  instead  of  the  work  of  Christ,  as 
the  ground  of  our  confidence  towards  God. 
To  suppose  that  all  he  says  relates  exclusive- 
ly to  a  relapse  into  Judaism,  is  to  suppose 
that  we  Gentiles  have  no  part  in  the  redemp- 
tion of  Christ.  If  it  was  only  from  the  bond- 
age of  the  Jewish  economy  that  he  redeemed 
his  people,  then  those  who  were  never  sub- 
ject to  that  bondage  have  no  interest  in  his 
work.  And  of  course  Paul  was  strangely  in- 
fatuated in  preaching  Christ  crucified  to  the 
Gentiles.  We  find,  however,  that  what  he 
taught  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  in  spe- 
cial reference  to  the  law  of  Moses,  he  teaches 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  in  reference  to 
that  law  which  is  holy,  just  and  good,  and 
which  condemns  the  most  secret  sins  of  the 
heart. 

The  nature  of  the  apostle's  doctrine  is,  if 


JUSTIFICATION.  17*5 

possible,  even  more  clear  from  the  manner  in 
which  he  vindicates  it,  than  from  his  direct 
assertions.  What  then !  he  asks,  shall  we 
continue  in  sin,  because  we  are  not  under  the 
law,  but  under  grace?  God  forbid.  Had 
Paul  taught  that  we  are  freed  from  the  cere- 
monial, in  order  to  be  subject  to  the  moral 
law,  there  could  have  been  no  room  for  such 
an  objection.  But  if  he  taught  that  the  moral 
law  itself  could  not  give  life,  that  we  must  be 
freed  from  its  demands  as  the  condition  of 
acceptance  with  God,  then  indeed,  to  the 
wise  of  this  world,  it  might  seem  that  he  was 
loosing  the  bands  of  moral  obligation,  and 
opening  the  door  to  the  greatest  licentious- 
ness. Hence  the  frequency  and  earnestness 
with  which  he  repels  the  objection,  and  shows 
that  so  far  from  legal  bondage  being  necessa  • 
ry  to  holiness,  it  must  cease  before  holiness 
can  exist ;  that  it  is  not  until  the  curse  of  the 
law  is  removed,  and  the  soul  reconciled  to 
God,  that  holy  affections  rise  in  the  heart, 
and  the  fruits  of  holiness  appear  in  the  life. 
Do  we  then  make  void  the  law  through  faith  ? 
God  forbid:  yea,  we  establish  the  law.* 
It  is  then  clearly  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible 

*Rom.  iii.  31. 


176  JUSTIFICATION. 

that  believers  are  freed  from  the  law  as  pre- 
scribing the  conditions  of  their  acceptance 
with  God;  it  is  no  longer  incumbent  upon 
them,  in  order  to  justification,  to  fulfil  its  de- 
mand of  perfect  obedience,  or  to  satisfy  its 
penal  exactions.  But  how  is  this  deliverance 
effected?  How  is  it  that  rational  and  ac- 
countable beings  are  exempted  from  the  obli- 
gations of  that  holy  and  just  law,  which  was 
originally  imposed  upon  their  race  as  the  rule 
of  justification  ?  The  answer  to  this  question 
includes  the  fourth  great  truth  respecting  the 
way  of  salvation  taught  in  the  Scriptures. 
It  is  not  by  the  abrogation  of  the  law,  either 
as  to  its  precepts  or  penalty ;  it  is  not  by  low- 
ering its  demands,  and  accommodating  them 
to  the  altered  capacities  or  inclinations  of 
men.  We  have  seen  how  constantly  the 
apostle  teaches  that  the  law  still  demands 
perfect  obedience,  and  that  they  are  debtors 
to  do  the  whole  law  who  seek  justification  at 
its  hands.  He  no  less  clearly  teaches  that 
death  is  as  much  the  wages  of  sin  in  our 
case,  as  it  was  in  that  of  Adam.  If  it  is 
neither  by  abrogation  nor  relaxation  that  we 
are  freed  from  the  demands  of  the  law,  how 
has  this  deliverance  been  effected  ?  By  the 
mystery  of  vicarious  obedience  and  suffering. 


JUSTIFICATION.  177 

This  is  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.     This 
is  what  was  a  scandal  to  the  Jews,  and  fool- 
ishness to  the  Greeks,  but,  to  those  that  are 
called,  the  power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  . 
God. 

The  Scriptures  teach  us  that  the  Son  of 
God,  the  brightness  of  the  Father's  glory, 
and  the  express  image  of  his  person,  who 
thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God, 
became  jiesh,  and  subjected  himself  to  the 
very  law  to  which  we  were  bound ;  that  he 
perfectly  obeyed  that  law,  and  suffered  its 
penalty,  and  thus,  by  satisfying  its  demands, 
delivered  us  from  its  bondage  and  introduced 
us  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of 
God.  It  is  thus  that  the  doctrine  of  redemp- 
tion is  presented  in  the  Scriptures.  God, 
says  the  apostle,  sent  forth  his  Son,  made  of 
a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  that  he  might 
redeem  those  that  were  under  the  law.* 
Being  made  under  the  law,  he  obeyed  it  per- 
fectly, and  brought  in  everlasting  righteous- 
ness, and  is  therefore  declared  to  be  the  Lord 
our  righteousness,  since,  by  his  obedience, 
many  are  constituted  righteous. f  He,  there- 
fore, is  said  to  be  made  righteousness  unto 
us.f     And  those  who  are  in  him  are  said  to 

*  Gal.  iv.  4,  5.  f  Rom.  v.  19.  if  1  Cor.  i.  30. 


178  JUSTIFICATION. 

be  righteous  before  God,  not  having  their 
own  righteousness,  but  that  which  is  by  the 
faith  of  Christ.* 

That  we  are  redeemed  from  the  curse  of 
the  law  by  Christ's  enduring  that  curse  in 
our  place,  is  taught  in  every  variety  of  form 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  Bible. 
There  was  the  more  need  that  this  point 
should  be  clearly  and  variously  presented, 
because  it  is  the  one  on  which  an  enlighten- 
ed conscience  immediately  fastens.  The  de- 
sert of  death  begets  the  fear  of  death.  And 
this  fear  of  death  cannot  be  allayed,  until  it 
is  seen  how,  in  consistency  with  divine  jus- 
tice, we  are  freed  from  the  righteous  penalty 
of  the  law.  How  this  is  done  the  Scriptures 
teach  in  the  most  explicit  manner.  Christ 
hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
being  made  a  curse  for  us.f  Paul  had  just 
said.  As  many  as  are  of  the  law  are  under 
the  curse.  But  all  men  are  naturally  under 
the  law,  and  therefore  all  are  under  the  curse. 
How  are  we  redeemed  from  it?  By  Christ's 
being  made  a  curse  for  us.  Such  is  the  sim- 
ple and  sufl&cient  answer  to  this  most  impor- 
tant of  all  questions. 

The  doctrine  so  plainly  taught  in  Gal.  iii. 

*  Phil.  iii.  9.  t  Gal  iii.  13. 


JUSTIFICATION.  179 

13,  that  Christ  has  redeemed  us  from  the 
curse  of  the  law  by  bearing  it  in  our  stead, 
is  no  less  clearly  presented  in  2  Cor.  v.  21. 
He  hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew 
no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteous- 
ness of  God  in  him.  This  is  represented  as 
the  only  ground  on  which  men  are  autho- 
rized to  preach  the  gospel.  We  are  ambas- 
sadors for  Christ,  says  the  apostle,  as  though 
God  did  beseech  you  by  us,  we  pray  you  in 
Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God. 
Then  follows  a  statement  of  the  ground  upon 
Avhich  this  offer  of  reconciliation  is  presented. 
God  has  made  effectual  provision  for  the  par- 
don of  sin,  by  making  Christ,  though  holy, 
harmless,  and  separate  from  sinners,  sin  for 
us,  that  we  might  be  made  righteous  in  him. 
The  iniquities  of  us  all  were  laid  on  him ;  he 
was  treated  as  a  sinner  in  our  place,  in  order 
that  we  might  be  treated  as  righteous  in  him. 
The  same  great  truth  is  taught  in  all  those 
passages  in  which  Christ  is  said  to  bear  our 
sins.  The  expression  to  bear  sin,  is  one 
which  is  clearly  explained  by  its  frequent  oc- 
currence in  the  sacred  Scriptures.  It  means 
to  bear  the  punishment  due  to  sin.  In  Lev. 
XX.  17,  it  is  said,  He  that  marries  his  sister, 
shall  bear  his  iniquity.     Again,  Whosoever 


180  JUSTIFICATION. 

curseth  his  God,  shall  bear  his  sin.  Of  him 
that  failed  to  keep  the  passover,  it  was  said, 
that  man  shall  bear  his  sin.*  If  a  man  sin 
he  shall  bear  his  iniquity.  It  is  used  in  the 
same  sense  when  one  man  is  spoken  of  as 
bearing  the  sin  of  another.  Your  children 
shall  wander  in  the  wilderness  forty  years, 
and  bear  your  whoredoms,  f  Our  fathers 
have  sinned  and  are  not,  and  we  have  borne 
their  iniquities. J  And  when,  in  Ezekiel 
xviii.  20,  it  is  said  that  the  son  shall  not  bear 
the  iniquity  of  the  father,  it  is  obviously 
meant  that  the  son  shall  not  be  punished  for 
the  sins  of  the  father.  The  meaning  of  this 
expression  being  thus  definite,  of  course  there 
can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  manner  in  which  it 
is  to  be  understood  when  used  in  reference  to 
the  Redeemer.  The  prophet  says.  The  Lord 
hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all.  My 
righteous  servant  shall  justify  many,  for  he 
shall  bear  their  iniquities.  He  was  number- 
ed with  transgressors,  and  bore  the  sins  of 
many.§  Language  more  explicit  could  not 
be  used.  This  whole  chapter  is  designed  to 
teach  one  great  truth,  that  our  sins  were  to  be 
laid  on  the  Messiah,  that  we  might  be  freed 

*  Numbers  ix.  13.  t  lumbers  xiv.  S3. 

I  Lam.  V.  7.  ^  Is.  liii.  6,  11,  12. 


JUSTIFICATION.  l§t 

from  the  punishment  which  they  deserved. 
It  is  therefore  said,  He  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions ;  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniqui- 
ties ;  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon 
him ;  for  the  transgression  of  my  people  was 
he  smitten.  In  the  New  Testament,  the 
same  doctrine  is  taught  in  the  same  terms. 
Who  his  ownself  bare  our  sins  in  his  own 
body  on  the  tree.*  Christ  was  offered  to 
bear  the  sins  of  many.f  Ye  know  that  he 
was  manifested  to  take  away  (to  bear)  our 
sins.  J  According  to  all  these  representa- 
tions, Christ  saves  us  from  the  punishment 
due  to  our  sins,  by  bearing  the  curse  of  the 
law  in  our  stead. 

-  Intimately  associated  with  the  passages 
just  referred  to,  are  those  which  describe  the 
Redeemer  as  a  sacrifice,  or  propitiation.  The 
essential  idea  of  a  sin-offering  is  propitiation 
by  means  of  vicarious  punishment.  That 
this  is  the  Scriptural  idea  of  a  sacrifice,  is 
plain  from  the  laws  of  their  institution,  from 
the  effects  ascribed  to  them,  and  from  the 
illustrative  declarations  of  the  sacred  writers. 
The  law  prescribed  that  the  offender  should 
bring  the  victim  to  the  altar,  lay  his  hands 
upon  its  head,  make  confession  of  his  crime ; 

*  1  Peter  ii.  24.  f  Heb.  ix.  28.  J  1  John  iii.  5. 

16 


182  JUSTIFICATION. 

and  that  the  animal  should  then  be  slain,  and 
its  blood  sprinkled  upon  the  altar.  Thus,  it 
is  said,  He  shall  put  his  hand  upon  the  head 
of  the  burnt-offering,  and  it  shall  be  accepted 
for  him  to  make  atonement  for  him.*  And 
he  brought  the  bullock  for  a  sin-offering,  and 
Aaron  and  his  sons  laid  their  hands  upon  the 
head  of  the  bullock  of  the  sin-offering,  f  The 
import  of  this  imposition  of  hands,  is  clearly 
taught  in  the  following  passage :  And  Aaron 
shall  lay  his  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  live 
goat,  and  confess  over  him  all  the  iniquities 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  all  their  trans- 
gressions in  all  their  sins,  putting  them  upon 
the  head  of  the  goat,  and  the  goat  shall  bear 
upon  him  all  their  iniquities  unto  a  land  not 
inhabited.  J  The  imposition  of  hands,  there- 
fore, v^as  designed  to  express,  symbolically, 
the  ideas  of  substitution  and  transfer  of  the 
liability  to  punishment.  In  the  case  just  re- 
ferred to,  in  order  to  convey  more  clearly  the 
idea  of  the  removal  of  the  liability  to  punish- 
ment, the  goat  on  vi^hose  head  the  sins  of  the 
people  were  imposed,  was  sent  into  the  wil- 
derness, but  another  goat  was  slain  and  con- 
sumed in  its  stead. 

The  nature  of  these  offerings  is  further  ob- 

*  Lev.  i.  4.  t  Lev.  viii.  14.  t  Lev.  xvi.  21,  22. 


JUSTIFICATION.  183 

vious  from  the  effects  attributed  to  them. 
They  were  commanded  in  order  to  make 
atonement,  to  propitiate,  to  make  reconcilia- 
tion, to  secure  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  And 
this  effect  they  actually  secured.  In  the  case 
of  every  Jewish  offender,  some  penalty  con- 
nected with  the  theocratical  constitution  un- 
der which  he  lived,  was  removed  by  the  pre- 
sentation and  acceptance  of  the  appointed 
sacrifice.  This  was  all  the  effect,  in  the  way 
of  securing  pardon,  that  the  blood  of  bulls 
and  goats  could  produce.  Their  efficacy  was 
confined  to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh,  and  to 
securing,  for  those  who  offered  them,  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  external  theocracy.  Besides, 
however,  this  efficacy,  which,  by  divine  ap- 
pointment, belonged  to  them  considered  in 
themselves,  they  were  intended  to  prefigure 
and  predict  the  true  atoning  sacrifice  which 
was  to  be  offered  when  the  fulness  of  time 
should  come.  Nothing,  however,  can  more 
clearly  illustrate  the  Scriptural  doctrine  of 
sacrifices,  than  the  expressions  employed  by 
the  sacred  writers  to  convey  the  same  idea  as 
that  intended  by  the  term  sin-offering.  Thus 
all  that  Isaiah  taught  by  saying  of  the  Mes- 
siah that  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was 
upon  him ;  that  by  his  stripes  we  are  healed ; 


184  JUSTIFICATION. 

that  he  was  smitten  for  the  transgression  of 
the  people ;  that  on  him  was  laid  the  iniquity 
of  us  all,  and  that  he  bore  the  sins  of  many, 
he  taught  by  saying,  he  made  his  soul  an 
offering  for  sin.  And  in  the  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  it  is  said,  He  was  offered  (as  a  sacri- 
fice) to  bear  the  sins  of  many.  The  same 
idea,  therefore,  is  expressed  by  saying,  either 
he  bore  our  sins,  or  he  was  made  an  offering 
for  sin.  But  to  bear  the  sins  of  any  one, 
means  to  bear  the  punishment  of  those  sins ; 
and,  therefore,  to  be  a  sin-offering,  conveys 
the  same  meaning. 

Such  being  the  idea  of  a  sacrifice  which 
pervades  the  whole  Jewish  Scriptures,  it  is 
obvious  that  the  sacred  writers  could  not 
teach  more  distinctly  and  intelligibly  the 
manner  in  which  Christ  secures  the  pardon 
of  sin,  than  by  saying  he  was  made  an  offer- 
ing for  sin.  With  this  mode  of  pardon  all 
the  early  readers  of  the  Scriptures  were  fami- 
liar. They  had  been  accustomed  to  it  from 
their  earliest  years.  No  one  of  them  could 
recall  the  time  when  the  altar,  the  victim  and 
the  blood  were  unknown  to  him.  His  first 
lessons  in  religion  contained  the  ideas  of  con- 
fession of  sin,  substitution  and  vicarious  suf- 
ferings and  death.     "When,  therefore,  the  in- 


JUSTIFICATION.  185 

spired  penmen  told  men  imbued  with  these 
ideas  that  Christ  was  a  propitiation  for  sin, 
that  he  was  offered  as  a  sacrifice  to  make  re- 
conciliation, they  told  them,  in  the  plainest 
of  all  terms,  that  he  secures  the  pardon  of 
our  sins  by  suffering  in  our  stead.  Jews 
could  understand  such  language  in  no  other 
way,  and  therefore,  we  may  be  sure  it  was 
intended  to  convey  no  other  meaning.  And 
in  point  of  fact,  it  has  been  so  understood  by 
the  Christian  church  from  its  first  organiza- 
tion to  the  present  day. 

If  it  were  merely  in  the  way  of  casual 
allusion  that  Christ  was  declared  to  be  a  sa- 
crifice, we  should  not  be  authorized  to  infer 
from  it  the  method  of  redemption.  But  this 
is  far  from  being  the  case.  This  doctrine  is 
presented  in  the  most  didactic  form.  It  is 
exhibited  in  every  possible  mode.  It  is  as- 
serted, illustrated,  vindicated.  It  is  made 
the  central  point  of  all  divine  institutions  and 
instructions.  It  is  urged  as  the  foundation 
of  hope,  as  the  source  of  consolation,  the  mo- 
tive to  obedience.  It  is  in  fact  the  gospel. 
It  would  be  vain  to  attempt  a  reference  to  all 
the  passages  in  which  this  great  doctrine  is 
taught.  We  are  told  that  God  set  forth 
Jesus  Christ  as  a  propitiation  for  our  sins 
16^ 


186  JUSTIFICATION. 

through  faith  in  his  blood.*  Again  he  is  de- 
clared to  be  a  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and 
not  for  our's  only  but  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world. t  He  is  called  the  Lamb  of 
God  that  taketh  away  (beareth)  the  sins  of 
the  world. J  Ye  were  not  redeemed,  says 
the  apostle  Peter,  with  corruptible  things  as 
silver  and  gold  from  your  vain  conversation 
received  by  tradition  from  your  fathers,  but 
with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ  as  of  a  lamb 
without  blemish  and  without  spot.^  In  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews  this  doctrine  is  more 
fully  exhibited  than  in  any  other  portion  of 
Scripture.  Christ  is  not  only  repeatedly 
called  a  sacrifice,  but  an  elaborate  compari- 
son is  made  between  the  offering  which  he 
presented  and  those  which  were  offered  under 
the  old  dispensation.  If  the  blood  of  bulls 
and  of  goats,  says  the  apostle,  and  the  ashes 
of  a  heifer  sprinkling  the  unclean,  sanctifieth 
to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh,  how  much  more 
shall  the  blood  of  Christ,  who  through  the 
Eternal  Spirit  (possessing  an  Eternal  Spirit) 
offered  himself  without  spot  unto  God,  purge 
your  conscience  from  dead  works  to  serve 
the  living  God.||     The  ancient  sacrifices  in 

*  Rom.  iii.  25.         f  1  John  ii.  2.         t  John  i.  29. 

5  1  Pet.  i.  18,  19.  II  Heb.  ix.  13,  14. 


JUSTIFICATION.  187 

themselves  could  only  remove  ceremonial 
nncleanness.  They  could  not  purge  the  con- 
science or  reconcile  the  soul  to  God.  They 
were  mere  shadows  of  the  true  sacrifice 
for  sins.  Hence  they  were  offered  daily. 
Christ's  sacrifice  being  really  efficacious,  was 
offered  but  once.  It  was  because  the  an- 
cient sacrifices  were  ineffectual,  that  Christ 
said,  when  he  came  into  the  world.  Sacrifice 
and  offering  thou  wouldst  not,  but  a  body 
hast  thou  prepared  me.  In  burnt  offerings 
and  sacrifices  for  sin  thou  hast  no  pleasure. 
Then  said  I,  Lo  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  O 
God.  By  the  which  will,  adds  the  apostle, 
that  is,  by  the  accomplishing  the  purpose  of 
God,  we  are  sanctified  (or  atoned  for)  through 
the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once 
for  all ;  and  by  that  one  offering  he  hath  per- 
fected for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified,  and 
of  all  this,  he  adds,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  wit- 
ness.* The  Scriptures,  therefore,  clearly 
teach  that  Jesus  Christ  delivers  us  from  the 
punishment  of  our  sins,  by  offering  himself 
as  a  sacrifice  in  our  behalf;  that  as  under  the 
old  dispensation,  the  penalties  attached  to 
the  violations  of  the  theocratical  covenant, 
were  removed  by  the  substitution  and  sacri^ 

*Heb.  X.  5,  15. 


1 88  JUSTIFICATION. 

fice  of  bulls  and  of  goats,  so  under  the  spirit- 
ual theocracy,  in  the  living  temple  of  the 
living  God,  the  punishment  of  sin  is  removed 
by  the  substitution  and  death  of  the  Son 
of  God.  As  no  ancient  Israelite,  when  by 
transgression  he  had  forfeited  his  liberty  of 
access  to  the  earthly  sanctuary,  was  ignorant 
of  the  mode  of  atonement  and  reconciliation ; 
so  now,  no  conscience-stricken  sinner,  who 
knows  that  he  is  unworthy  to  draw  near  to 
God,  need  be  ignorant  of  that  new  and  living 
way  which  Christ  hath  consecrated  for  us, 
through  his  flesh,  so  that  we  have  boldness 
to  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus. 
In  all  the  forms  of  expression  hitherto 
mentioned,  viz  :  Christ  was  made  a  curse  for 
us;  he  was  made  sin  for  us;  he  bore  our 
sins,  he  was  made  a  sin  offering,  there  is 
the  idea  of  substitution.  Christ  took  our 
place,  he  suffered  in  our  stead,  he  acted  as 
our  representative.  But  as  the  act  of  a  sub- 
stitute is  in  effect  the  act  of  the  principal,  all 
that  Christ  did  and  suffered  in  that  character, 
every  believer  is  regarded  as  having  done 
and  suffered.  The  attentive  and  pious  read- 
er of  the  Bible  will  recognise  this  idea  in 
some  of  the  most  common  forms  of  Scriptur- 
al expression.     Believers  are  those  who  are 


JUSTIFICATION.  189 

in  Christ.  This  is  their  great  distinction 
and  most  familiar  designation.  They  are  so 
united  to  him,  that  what  he  did  in  their  be- 
half they  are  declared  to  have  done.  When 
he  died,  they  died ;  when  he  rose,  they  rose  ; 
as  he  lives,  they  shall  live  also.  The  passa- 
ges in  which  believers  are  said  to  have  died 
in  Christ  are  very  numerous.  If  one  died 
for  all,  says  the  apostle,  then  all  died  (not, 
were  dead.)^  He  that  died  (with  Christ)  is 
justified  from  sin,  i.  e.  freed  from  its  condem- 
nation and  power;  and  if  we  died  with 
Christ,  we  believe,  that  we  shall  live  with 
him.f  As  a  woman  is  freed  by  death  from 
her  husband,  so  believers  are  freed  from  the 
law  by  the  body  (the  death)  of  Christ,  be- 
cause his  death  is  in  effect  their  death. f 
And  in  the  following  verse,  he  says,  having 
died,  (in  Christ)  we  are  freed  from  the  law. 
Every  believer,  therefore,  may  say  with  Paul, 
I  was  crucified  with  Christ.^  In  like  man- 
ner the  resurrection  of  Christ  secures  both 
the  spiritual  life  and  future  resurrection  of 
all  his  people.  If  we  have  been  united  to 
him  in  his  death,  we  shall  be  in  his  resurrec- 
tion.    If  we  died  with  him,  we   shall  live 

*  2  Cor.  V.  14.  t  Rom.  vi.  7,  8. 

I  Rom.  vii.  4.  {  Gal.  ii.  20. 


190  JUSTIFICATION. 

with  him.*  God,  says  the  apostle,  hath 
quickened  us  together  with  Christ;  and 
hath  raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us 
to  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ 
Jesus. t  That  is,  God  hath  quickened,  rais- 
ed, and  exalted  us  together^  with  Christ. 
It  is  on  this  ground  also  that  Paul  says  that 
Christ  rose  as  the  first  fruits  of  the  dead ;  not 
merely  the  first  in  order,  but  the  earnest  and 
security  of  the  resurrection  of  his  people. 
For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  so  in  Christ  shall  all 
be  made  alive.  ^  As  our  union  with  Adam 
secures  our  death,  union  with  Christ  secures 
our  resurrection.  Adam  is  a  type  of  him 
that  was  to  come,  that  is  Christ,  inasmuch  as 
the  relation  in  which  Adam  stood  to  the 
whole  race,  is  analogous  to  that  in  which 
Christ  stands  to  his  own  people.  As  Adam 
was  our  natural  head,  the  poison  of  sin  flows 
in  all  our  veins.  As  Christ  is  our  spiritual 
head,  eternal  life  which  is  in  him,  descends 
to  all  his  members.     It  is  not  they  that  live, 

*  Rom.  vi.  5,  8.  t  Eph.  ii.  5,  6. 

J  There  is  no  separate  word  in  the  original  to  answer  to  the 
word  together,  which  is  not  to  he  understood  of  the  union  of 
believers  with  one  another  in  the  participation  of  these  bless- 
ings.    It  is  their  union  with  Christ  that  the  passage  asserts. 

{  1  Cor.  XV.  20,  22. 


JUSTIFICATION.  191 

but  Christ  that  liveth  in  them.^-  This  doc- 
trine of  the  representative  and  vital  union  of 
Christ  and  believers,  pervades  the  New  Tes- 
tament. It  is  the  source  of  the  humility,  the 
joy,  the  confidence  which  the  sacred  writers 
so  often  express.  In  themselves  they  were 
nothing  and  deserved  nothing,  but  in  Him 
they  possessed  all  things.  Hence  they  count- 
ed all  things  but  loss  that  they  might  be 
found  in  Him.  Hence  they  determined  to 
know  nothing,  to  preach  nothing,  to  glory  in 
nothing  but  in  Christ  and  him  crucified. 

The  great  doctrine  of  the  vicarious  suffer- 
ings and  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  further 
taught  in  those  numerous  passages  which  re- 
fer our  salvation  to  his  blood,  his  death,  or  his 
cross.  Viewed  in  connexion  with  the  passa- 
ges already  mentioned,  those  now  referred  to 
not  only  teach  the  fact  that  the  death  of 
Christ  secures  the  pardon  of  sin,  but  how  it 
does  it.  To  this  class  belong  such  declara- 
tions as  the  following.  The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  cleanses  us  from  all  sin.f  We  have 
redemption  through  his  blood. J  He  has 
made  peace  through  the  blood  of  his  cross.  J 
Being  justified  by  his  blood.  ||     Ye  are  made 

*  Gal.  ii.  20.  f  1  John  i.  7.  J  Eph.  i.  7. 

5  Col.  i.  20.  II  Rom.  v.  9. 


192  JUSTIFICATION. 

nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ.*  Ye  are  come 
to  the  blood  of  sprinkling. f  Elect  nnto  obe- 
dience and  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ.  J  Unto  him  who  loved  ns  and  wash- 
ed us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood.  ^  He 
hath  redeemed  us  unto  God  by  his  blood. || 
This  cup,  said  the  Son  of  God  himself,  is  the 
New  Testament  in  my  blood,  which  is  shed 
for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins.  IT  The 
sacrificial  character  of  the  death  of  Christ  is 
taught  in  all  these  passages.  Blood  was  the 
means  of  atonement,  and  without  the  shedding 
of  blood,  there  was  no  remission ;  and,  there- 
fore, when  our  salvation  is  so  often  ascribed 
to  the  blood  of  the  Saviour,  it  is  declared  that 
he  died  as  a  propitiation  for  our  sins. 

The  same  remark  may  be  made  in  refer- 
ence to  those  passages,  which  ascribe  our  re- 
demption to  the  death,  the  cross,  the  flesh  of 
Christ;  for  these  terms  are  interchanged  as 
being  of  the  same  import.  We  are  reconciled 
unto  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son.**  We  are 
reconciled  by  his  cross. ff  We  are  reconciled 
by  the  body  of  his  flesh  through  death.  Jf 
We  are  delivered  from  the  law  by  the  body 

*  Eph.  ii.  13.  t  Heb.  xii.  24.         |  1  Pet.  i.  2. 

}  Rev.  i.  5.  II  Rev.  v.  9.  IF  Matt.  xxvi.  28. 

**  Rom.  V.  10.  tt  Eph.  ii.  16.         |t  Col.  i.  22. 


JUSTIFICATION.  193 

of  Christ  ;*  he  abolished  the  law  in  his  flesh  ;t 
he  took  away  the  handwriting,  which  was 
against  us,  nailing  it  to  his  cross,  f  The 
more  general  expressions  respecting  Christ's 
dying  for  us,  receive  a  definite  meaning  from 
their  connexion  with  the  more  specific  passa- 
ges above  mentioned.  Every  one,  therefore, 
knows  what  is  meant,  when  it  is  said  that 
Christ  died  for  the  ungodly;^  that  he  gave 
himself  a  ransom  for  many;||  that  he  died 
the  just  for  the  unjust  that  he  might  bring  us 
unto  God. IT  Not  less  plain  is  the  meaning 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  when  it  is  said,  God  spared 
not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us 
all;**  that  he  was  delivered  for  our  offen- 
ces ;tt  that  he  gave  himself  for  our  sins.JJ 

Seeing  then  that  we  owe  every  thing  to  the 
expiatory  sufferings  of  the  blessed  Saviour, 
we  cease  to  wonder  that  the  Cross  is  rendered 
so  prominent  in  the  exhibition  of  the  plan  of 
salvation.  We  are  not  surprised  at  Paul's 
anxiety,  lest  the  cross  of  Christ  should  be 
made  of  none  effect;  or  that  he  should  call 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  the  preaching  of 
the  cross;  or  that  he  should  preach  Christ 

=^  Rom.  vii.  4.  f  Eph.  ii.  15.  t  Col.  ii.  14. 

5  Rom.  V.  6.  II  Matt.  xx.  28.  IT  1  Pet.  iii.  18. 

**  Rom.  viii.  32.  ft  Rom.  iv.  25.  #  Gal.  i.  4. 
17 


194  JUSTIFICATION. 

crucified,  both  to  Jews  and  Greeks,  as  the 
wisdom  of  God  and  the  power  of  God,  or  that 
he  should  determine  to  glory  in  nothing  save 
in  the  Cross  of  Christ. 

As  there  is  no  truth  more  necessary  to  be 
known,  so  there  is  none  more  variously  or 
plainly  taught  than  the  method  of  escaping 
the  wrath  of  God  due  to  us  for  sin.  Besides 
all  the  clear  exhibitions  of  Christ  as  bearing 
our  sins,  as  dying  in  our  stead,  as  making  his 
soul  an  offering  for  sin,  as  redeeming  us  by 
his  blood,  the  Scriptures  set  him  forth  in  the 
character  of  a  Priest,  in  order  that  we  might 
more  fully  understand  how  it  is  that  he  effects 
our  salvation.  It  w^as  predicted  long  before 
his  advent  that  the  Messiah  was  to  be  a 
priest.  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever,  after  the 
order  of  Melchizedec,  was  the  declaration  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  by  the  mouth  of  David.* 
Zechariah  predicted  that  he  should  sit  as  a 
priest  upon  his  throne. f  The  apostle  defines 
a  priest  to  be  a  man  ordained  for  men  in 
things  pertaining  unto  God,  that  he  may  offer 
both  gifts  and  sacrifices  for  sins.  J  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  only  real  priest  in  the  universe. 
All  others  were  either  pretenders,  or  the  sha- 
dow of  the  great  High  Priest  of  our  profes- 

*  Ps.  ex.  4.  t  Zechariah  vi.  13.  ij:  Heb.  v.  1. 


JUSTIFICATION.  195 

sion.  For  this  office  he  had  every  necessary 
qualification.  He  was  a  man.  For  inasmuch 
as  the  children  were  partakers  of  flesh  and 
blood  he  also  took  part  of  the  same  in  order 
that  he  might  be  a  merciful  and  faithful  high 
priest ;  one  who  can  be  touched  with  a  sense 
of  our  infirmities,  seeing  he  was  tempted  in 
all  points  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin.  He 
was  sinless.  For  such  a  high  priest  became 
us  who  was  holy,  harmless  and  separate  from 
sinners.  He  was  the  Son  of  God.  The  law 
made  men,  having  infirmity,  priests.  But 
God  declared  his  Son  to  be  a  priest,  who  is 
consecrated  for  evermore.*  The  sense  in 
which  Christ  is  declared  to  be  the  Son  of 
God,  is  explained  in  the  first  chapter  of  this 
epistle.  It  is  there  said,  that  he  is  the  ex- 
press image  of  God;  that  he  upholds  all 
things  by  the  word  of  his  power ;  that  all  the 
angels  are  commanded  to  worship  him ;  that 
his  throne  is  an  everlasting  throne;  that  in 
the  beginning  he  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
earth;  that  he  is  from  everlasting,  and  that 
his  years  fail  not.  It  is  from  the  dignity  of 
his  person,  as  possessing  this  divine  nature, 
that  the  apostle  deduces  the  efficacy  of  his 
sacrifice,!  the  perpetuity  of  his  priesthood, J 

*  Heb.  vii.  28.  f  Heb.  ix.  14.  I  Heb.  vii.  16. 


196  JUSTIFICATION. 

and  his  ability  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all 
who  come  unto  God  through  him.*  He  was 
duly  constituted  a  priest.  He  glorified  not 
himself  to  be  made  a  high  priest,  but  he  that 
said  to  him,  Thou  art  my  Son,  said  also, 
Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever.  He  is  the  only 
real  priest,  and,  therefore,  his  advent  super- 
seded all  others,  and  put  an  immediate  end  to 
all  their  lawful  ministrations,  by  abolishing 
the  typical  dispensation  with  which  they 
were  connected.  For  the  priesthood  being 
changed,  there  was  of  necessity  a  change  of 
the  law.  There  was  a  disannulling  of  the 
former  commandment  for  the  weakness  and 
unprofitableness  thereof,  and  there  was  the 
introduction  of  a  better  hope.f  He  has  an 
appropriate  offering  to  present.  As  every 
high  priest  is  appointed  to  offer  sacrifices,  it 
was  necessary  that  this  man  should  have 
somewhat  to  offer.  This  sacrifice  was  not 
the  blood  of  goats  or  of  calves,  but  his  own 
blood ;  it  was  himself  he  offered  unto  God,  to 
purge  our  conscience  from  dead  works,  f  He 
has  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself, 
which  was  accomplished  when  he  was  once 
offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many.^     He  has 

*  Heb.  vii.  25.  t  Heb.  vii.  12,  19. 

t  Heb.  ix.  12,  14.  5  Heb.  ix.  26,  28. 


JUSTIFICATION.  197 

passed  into  the  heavens.  As  the  high  priest 
was  required  to  enter  into  the  most  holy  place 
with  the  blood  of  atonement,  so  Christ  has 
entered  not  into  the  holy  place  made  with 
hands,  but  into  heaven  itself,  now  to  appear 
in  the  presence  of  God  for  us,*  and  where  he 
ever  lives  to  make  intercession  for  us.f 

Seeing  then  we  have  a  great  High  Priest, 
that  is  passed  into  the  heavens,  Jesus  the  Son 
of  God,  (let  the  reader  remember  what  that 
means),  who  is  set  down  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  Majesty  on  high,  having  by  himself 
purged  our  sins  and  made  reconciliation  for 
the  sins  of  the  people,  every  humble  believer 
who  commits  his  soul  into  the  hands  of  this 
High  Priest,  may  come  with  boldness  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  assured  that  he  shall  find 
mercy  and  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need. 

Section  HI.  The  righteousness  of  Christ 
the  true  ground  of  our  Justification.  The 
practical  effects  of  this  doctrine. 

The  Bible,  as  we  have  seen,  teaches,  first, 
that  we  are  under  a  law  which  demands  per- 
fect obedience,  and  which  threatens  death  in 
case  of  transgression ;  secondly,  that  all  men 

*  Heb.  ix.  24.  t  Heb.  vii.  25. 

17* 


198  JUSTIFICATION. 

have  failed  in  rendering  that  obedience,  and 
therefore,  are  subject  to  the  threatened  penal- 
ty ;  thirdly,  that  Christ  has  redeemed  us  from 
the  law  by  being  made  under  it  and  in  our 
place,  satisfying  its  demands.  It  only  re- 
mains to  be  shown  that  this  perfect  righte- 
ousness of  Christ  is  presented  as  the  ground 
of  our  justification  before  God. 

In  scriptural  language  condemnation  is  a 
sentence  of  death  pronounced  upon  sin ;  justi- 
fication is  a  sentence  of  life  pronounced  upon 
righteousness.  As  this  righteousness  is  not 
our  own,  as  we  are  sinners,  ungodly,  without 
works,  it  must  be  the  righteousness  of  an- 
other, even  of  him  who  is  our  righteousness. 
Hence  we  find  so  constantly  the  distinction 
between  our  own  righteousness  and  that 
which  God  gives.  The  Jews,  the  apostle 
says,  being  ignorant  of  God's  righteousness, 
and  going  about  to  establish  their  own  righte- 
ousness, would  not  submit  themselves  unto 
the  righteousness  of  God.*  This  was  the 
rock  on  which  they  split.  They  knew  that 
justification  required  a  righteousness;  they 
insisted  on  urging  their  own,  imperfect  as  it 
was,  and  would  not  accept  of  that  which  God 
had  provided  in  the  merits  of  his  Son,  who  is 

*  Rom.  X.  3. 


JUSTIFICATION.  199 

the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every 
one  that  believes.  The  same  idea  is  present- 
ed in  Rom.  ix.  30,  32,  where  Paul  sums  up 
the  case  of  the  rejection  of  the  Jews  and  the 
acceptance  of  believers.  The  Gentiles  have 
attained  righteousness,  even  the  righteous- 
ness which  is  of  faith.  But  Israel  hath  not 
attained  it.  Wherefore?  Because  they  sought 
it  not  by  faith,  but  as  it  were  by  the  works  of 
the  law.  The  Jews  would  not  receive  and 
confide  in  the  righteousness  which  God  had 
provided,  but  endeavoured,  by  works,  to  pre- 
pare a  righteousness  of  their  own.  This  was 
the  cause  of  their  ruin.  In  direct  contrast  to 
the  course  pursued  by  the  majority  of  his 
kinsmen,  we  find  Paul  renouncing  all  de- 
pendence upon  his  own  righteousness,  and 
thankfully  receiving  that  which  God  had 
provided.  Though  he  had  every  advantage 
and  every  temptation  to  trust  in  himself,  that 
any  man  could  have ;  for  he  was  one  of  the 
favoured  people  of  God,  circumcised  on  the 
eighth  day,  and  touching  the  righteousness 
w^hich  is  in  the  law,  blameless,  yet  all  these 
things  he  counted  but  loss,  that  he  might  win 
Christ,  and  be  found  in  him,  not  having  his 
own  righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law,  but 
that  which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ,  the 


200  JUSTIFICATION. 

righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith. ^ 
Here  the  two  righteousnesses  are  brought 
distinctly  into  view.  The  one  was  his  own, 
consisting  in  obedience  to  the  law ;  this  Paul 
rejects  as  inadequate,  and  unworthy  of  ac- 
ceptance. The  other  is  of  God  and  received 
by  faith ;  this  Paul  accepts  and  glories  in  as 
all  sufficient  and  as  alone  sufficient.  This  is 
the  righteousness  which  the  apostle  says  God 
imputes  to  those  without  works.  Hence  it  is 
called  a  gift,  a  free  gift,  a  gift  by  grace,  and 
believers  are  described  as  those  who  receive 
this  gift  of  righteousness. t  Hence  we  are 
never  said  to  be  justified  by  any  thing  done 
by  us  or  wrought  in  us,  but  by  what  Christ 
has  done  for  us.  We  are  justified  through 
the  redemption  that  is  in  him.  J  We  are  jus- 
tified by  his  blood.  ^  We  are  justified  by  his 
obedience.il  We  are  justified  by  him  from 
all  things. 1[  He  is  our  righteousness.** 
We  are  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in 
him.ft  We  are  justified  in  his  name.JJ 
There  is  no  condemnation  to  those  who  are 
in  him.H     Justification  is,  therefore,  by  faith 

*Phil.  iii.  9.  fRom.  v.  17. 

t  Rom.  iii.  24.  5  Rom.  v.  9. 

II  Rom.  V.  19.  IF  Acts  xiii.  39. 

**lCor.  i.  30.  tt2Cor.  V.  21. 

II  1  Cor.  vi.  11.  55  Rom.  viii.  1. 


JUSTIFICATION.  201 

in  Christ,  because  faith  is  receiving  and  trust- 
ing to  him  as  our  Saviour,  as  having  done  all 
that  is  required  to  secure  our  acceptance  be- 
fore God. 

It  is  thus  then  the  Scriptures  answer  the 
question.  How  can  a  man  be  just  with  God  ? 
When  the  soul  is  burdened  with  a  sense  of 
sin,  when  it  sees  how  reasonable  and  holy  is 
that  law  which  demands  perfect  obedience 
and  which  threatens  death  as  the  penalty  of 
transgression ;  when  it  feels  the  absolute  im- 
possibility of  ever  satisfying  these  just  de- 
mands by  its  own  obedience  and  sufferings, 
it  is  then  that  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ 
as  our  righteousness,  is  felt  to  be  the  wisdom 
and  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  Destitute 
of  all  righteousness  in  ourselves,  we  have  our 
righteousness  in  him.  What  we  could  not 
do  he  has  done  for  us.  The  righteousness, 
therefore,  on  the  ground  of  which  the  sen- 
tence of  justification  is  passed  upon  the  be- 
lieving sinner,  is  not  his  own  but  that  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  one  of  the  strongest  evidences  of  the 
divine  origin  of  the  Scriptures  that  they  are 
suited  to  the  nature  and  circumstances  of 
man.  If  their  doctrines  were  believed  and 
their  precepts  obeyed,  men  would  stand  in 


202  JUSTIFICATION. 

their  true  relation  to  God,  and  the  different 
classes  of  men  to  each  other.  Parents  and 
children,  husbands  and  wives,  rulers  and 
subjects,  would  be  found  in  their  proper 
sphere,  and  would  attain  the  highest  possible 
degree  of  excellence  and  happiness.  Truth 
is  in  order  to  holiness.  And  all  truth  is 
known  to  be  truth,  by  its  tendency  to  pro- 
mote holiness.  As  this  test  when  applied  to 
the  Scriptures  generally,  evinces  their  divine 
perfection,  so  when  applied  to  the  cardinal 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  it  shows  that  doctrine  to  be  worthy  of 
all  acceptation.  On  this  ground  it  is  com- 
mended by  the  sacred  writers.  They  de- 
clare it  to  be  in  the  highest  degree  honour- 
able to  God  and  beneficial  to  man.  They 
assert  that  it  is  so  arranged  as  to  display  the 
wisdom,  justice,  holiness  and  love  of  God, 
while  it  secures  the  pardon,  peace  and  holi- 
ness of  men.  If  it  failed  in  either  of  these 
objects ;  if  it  were  not  suited  to  the  divine 
character,  or  to  our  nature  and  necessities,  it 
could  not  answer  the  end  for  which  it  was 
designed. 

It  will  be  readily  admitted  that  the  glory 
of  God  in  the  exhibition  or  revelation  of  the 
divine  perfections  is  the  highest  conceivable 


JUSTIFICATION.  203 

end  of  creation  and  redemption ;  and  conse- 
quently that  any  doctrine  which  is  suited 
to  make  such  exhibition  is,  on  that  account, 
worthy  of  being  universally  received  and 
gloried  in.  Now  the  inspired  writers  teach 
us  that  it  is  peculiarly  in  the  plan  of  redemp- 
tion that  the  divine  perfections  are  revealed ; 
that  it  was  designed  to  show  unto  principali- 
ties and  powers  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God ; 
that  Christ  was  set  forth  as  a  propitiatory 
sacrifice  to  exhibit  his  righteousness  or  jus- 
tice ;  and  especially  that  in  the  ages  to  come 
he  might  show  forth  the  exceeding  riches  of 
his  grace  in  his  kindness  towards  us  in 
Christ  Jesus.  It  is  the  love  of  God,  the 
breadth  and  length  and  depth  and  height  of 
which  pass  knowledge,  that  is  here  most  con- 
spicuously displayed.  Some  men  strangely 
imagine  that  the  death  of  Christ  procured  for 
us  the  love  of  God ;  whereas  it  was  the  effect 
and  not  the  cause  of  that  love.  Christ  did 
not  die  that  God  might  love  us ;  but  he  died 
because  God  loved  us.  God  commendeth 
his  love  towards  us  in  that  while  we  were 
sinners  Christ  died  for  us.  He  so  loved  the 
world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  might  not 
perish,  but  have  eternal  life.     In  this  was 


204  JUSTIFICATION. 

manifested  the  love  of  God  towards  us,  be- 
cause God  sent  his  only  begotten  Son  into 
the  world,  that  we  might  live  through  him. 
Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but 
that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins.  * 

As  this  love  of  God  is  manifested  towards 
the  unworthy,  it  is  called  grace,  and  this  it 
is  that  the  Scriptures  dwell  upon  with  such 
peculiar  frequency  and  earnestness.  The 
mystery  of  redemption  is,  that  a  Being  of  in- 
finite holiness  and  justice  should  manifest 
such  wonderful  love  to  sinners.  Hence  the 
sacred  writers  so  earnestly  denounce  every 
thing  that  obscures  this  peculiar  feature  of 
the  gospel;  every  thing  which  represents 
men  as  worthy,  as  meriting,  or,  in  any  way 
by  their  own  goodness,  securing  the  exercise 
of  this  love  of  God.  It  is  of  grace  lest  any 
man  should  boast.  We  are  justified  by 
grace;  we  are  saved  by  grace;  and  if  of 
grace  it  is  no  more  of  works,  otherwise  grace 
is  no  more  grace.  The  apostle  teaches  us 
not  only  that  the  plan  of  salvation  had  its 
origin  in  the  unmerited  kindness  of  God,  and 
that  our  acceptance  with  him  is  in  no  way 
or  degree  founded  in  our  own  worthiness, 
but  moreover,  that  the  actual  administration 


JUSTIFICATION.  205 

of  the  economy  of  mercy  is  so  conducted  as 
to  magnify  this  attribute  of  the  divine  char- 
acter. God  chooses  the  foolish,  the  base,  the 
weak,  yea  those  who  are  nothing,  in  order 
that  no  flesh  should  glory  in  his  presence. 
Christ  is  made  every  thing  to  us,  that  those 
who  glory,  should  glory  only  in  the  Lord.^ 

It  cannot  fail  to  occur  to  every  reader  that 
unless  he  sincerely  rejoices  in  this  feature  of 
the  plan  of  redemption,  unless  he  is  glad  that 
the  whole  glory  of  his  salvation  belongs  to 
God,  his  heart  cannot  be  in  accordance  with 
the  gospel.  If  he  believes  that  the  ground 
of  his  acceptance  is  in  himself,  or  even 
wishes  that  it  were  so,  he  is  not  prepared  to 
join  in  those  grateful  songs  of  acknowledg- 
ment to  Him,  who  hath  saved  us  and  called 
us  with  an  holy  calling,  not  according  to  our 
works,  but  according  to  his  own  purpose  and 
grace,  which  it  is  the  delight  of  the  redeem- 
ed to  oflfer  unto  him  that  loved  them  and 
gave  himself  for  them.  It  is  most  obvious 
that  the  sacred  writers  are  abundant  in  the 
confession  of  their  unworthiness  in  the  sight 
of  God.  They  acknowledged  that  they  were 
unworthy  absolutely  and  unworthy  compara- 
tively.    It  was  of  grace  that  any  man  was 

*  1  Cor.  i.  27,  31. 

18 


206  JUSTIFICATION. 

saved;  and  it  was  of  grace  that  they  were 
saved  rather  than  others.  It  is,  therefore,  all 
of  grace,  that  God  may  be  exalted  and  glori- 
fied in  all  them  that  believe. 

The  doctrine  of  the  gratuitous  justification 
of  sinners  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  not  only 
displays  the  infinite  love  of  God,  but  it  is  de- 
clared to  be  peculiarly  honourable  to  him,  or 
peculiarly  consistent  with  his  attributes,  be- 
cause it  is  adapted  to  all  men.  Is  he  the 
God  of  the  Jews  only  ?  Is  he  not  also  of  the 
Gentiles  ?  Yes,  of  the  Gentiles  also  ;  seeing 
it  is  one  God  who  shall  justify  the  circum- 
cision by  faith,  and  the  uncircumcision 
through  faith.  For  the  same  Lord  over  all 
is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon  him.  For 
WHOSOEVER  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  saved.  This  is  no  narrow,  na- 
tional, or  sectarian  doctrine.  It  is  as  broad 
as  the  earth.  Wherever  men,  the  creatures 
of  God  can  be  found,  there  the  mercy  of  God 
in  Christ  Jesus,  may  be  preached.  The 
apostle  greatly  exults  in  this  feature  of  the 
plan  of  redemption,  as  worthy  of  God ;  and 
as  making  the  gospel  the  foundation  of  a  reli- 
gion for  all  nations  and  ages.  In  revealing 
a  salvation  sufficient  for  all  and  suited  for  all, 
it  discloses  God  in  his  true  character,  as  the 
God  and  Father  of  all. 


JUSTIFICATION.  207 

The  Scriptures,  however,  represent  this 
great  doctrine  as  not  less  suited  to  meet  the 
necessities  of  man,  than  it  is  to  promote  the 
glory  of  God.  If  it  exalts  God,  it  humbles 
man.  If  it  renders  it  manifest  that  he  is  a 
Being  of  infinite  holiness,  justice  and  love,  it 
makes  us  feel  that  we  are  destitute  of  all 
merit,  nay,  are  most  ill-deserving;  that  we 
are  without  strength ;  that  our  salvation  is  an 
undeserved  favour.  As  nothing  is  more  true 
than  the  guilt  and  helplessness  of  men,  no 
plan  of  redemption  which  does  not  recognise 
those  facts  could  ever  be  in  harmony  with 
our  inward  experience,  or  command  the  full 
acquiescence  of  the  penitent  soul.  The  as- 
cription of  merit  which  we  are  conscious  we 
do  not  deserve,  produces  of  itself  severe  dis- 
tress ;  and  if  this  false  estimate  of  our  deserts 
is  the  ground  of  the  exhibition  of  special 
kindness  towards  us,  it  destroys  the  happi- 
ness such  kindness  would  otherwise  produce. 
To  a  soul,  therefore,  sensible  of  its  pollution 
and  guilt  in  the  sight  of  God,  the  doctrine 
that  it  is  saved  on  account  of  its  own  good- 
ness, or  because  it  is  better  than  other  men, 
is  discordant  and  destructive  of  its  peace. 
Nothing  but  an  absolutely  gratuitous  salva- 
tion can  suit  a  soul  sensible  of  its  ill-desert. 


208  JUSTIFICATION. 

Nothing  else  suits  its  views  of  truth,  or  its 
sense  of  right.  The  opposite  doctrine  in- 
volves a  falsehood  and  a  moral  impropriety  in 
which  neither  the  reason  nor  conscience  can 
acquiesce.  The  scriptural  doctrine,  which 
assumes  what  we  know  to  be  true,  viz :  our 
guilt  and  helplessness  places  us  in  our  pro- 
per relation  to  God ;  that  relation  which  ac- 
cords with  the  truth,  with  our  sense  of  right, 
with  our  inward  experience,  and  with  every 
proper  desire  of  our  hearts.  This  is  one  of 
the  reasons  why  the  Scriptures  represent 
peace  as  the  consequence  of  justification  by 
faith.  There  can  be  no  peace  while  the  soul 
is  not  in  harmony  with  God,  and  there  can 
be  no  such  harmony  until  it  willingly  occu- 
pies its  true  position  in  relation  to  God.  So 
long  as  it  does  not  acknowledge  its  true  cha- 
racter, so  long  as  it  acts  on  the  assumption  of 
its  ability  to  merit  or  to  earn  the  divine  fa- 
vour, it  is  in  a  false  position.  Its  feelings  to- 
wards God  are  wrong,  and  there  is  no  mani- 
festation of  approbation  or  favour  on  the  part 
of  God  towards  the  soul.  But  when  we  take 
our  true  place  and  feel  our  ill-desert,  and  look 
upon  pardoning  mercy  as  a  mere  gratuity, 
we  find  access  to  God,  and  his  love  is  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts,  producing  that  peace 


JUSTIFICATION.  209 

which  passes  all  understanding.  The  soul 
ceases  from  its  legal  strivings ;  it  gives  over 
the  vain  attempt  to  make  itself  worthy,  or  to 
work  out  a  righteousness  wherewith  to  ap- 
pear tefore  God.  It  is  contented  to  be  ac- 
cepted as  unworthy,  and  to  receive  as  a  gift 
a  righteousness  which  can  bear  the  scrutiny 
of  God.  Peace,  therefore,  is  not  the  result  of 
the  assurance  of  mere  pardon,  but  of  pardon 
founded  upon  a  righteousness  which  illus- 
trates the  character  of  God,  which  magnifies 
the  law  and  makes  it  honourable ;  which  sa- 
tisfies the  justice  of  God,  while  it  displays  the 
infinite  riches  of  his  tenderness  and  love. 
The  soul  can  find  no  objection  to  such  a  me- 
thod of  forgiveness.  It  is  not  pained  by  the 
ascription  of  merit  to  itself,  which  is  felt  to  be 
undeserved.  Its  utter  unworthiness  is  not 
only  recognised  but  openly  declared.  Nor  is 
it  harassed  by  the  anxious  doubt  whether 
God  can,  consistently  with  his  justice,  forgive 
sin.  For  justice  is  as  clearly  revealed  in  the 
cross  of  Christ,  as  love.  The  whole  soul, 
therefore,  however  enlightened,  or  however 
sensitive,  acquiesces  with  humility  and  de- 
light in  a  plan  of  mercy  which  thus  honours 
God,  and  which,  while  it  secures  the  salva- 
tion of  the  sinner,  permits  him  to  hide  him- 
18^ 


210  JUSTIFICATION. 

self  in  the  radiance  which  surrounds  his  Sa- 
viour. 

The  apostles,  moreover,  urge  on  men  the 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  with  peculiar 
earnestness,  because  it  presents  the  only  me- 
thod of  deliverance  from  sin.  So  long  as  men 
are  under  the  condemnation  of  the  law,  and 
feel  themselves  bound  by  its  demands  of  obe- 
dience as  the  condition  and  ground  of  their 
acceptance  with  God,  they  do  and  must  feel 
that  he  is  unreconciled,  that  his  perfections 
are  arrayed  against  them.  Their  whole  ob- 
ject is  to  propitiate  him  by  means  which  they 
know  to  be  inadequate.  Their  spirit  is  ser- 
vile, their  religion  a  bondage,  their  God  is  a 
hard  master.  To  men  in  such  a  state,  true 
love,  true  obedience  and  real  peace  are  alike 
impossible.  But  when  they  are  brought  to 
see  that  God,  through  his  infinite  love,  has 
set  forth  Jesus  Christ  as  a  propitiation  for  our 
sins,  that  he  might  be  just,  and  yet  justify 
those  that  believe ;  that  it  is  not  by  works  of 
righteousness  which  we  have  done,  but  ac- 
cording to  his  mercy  he  saveth  us ;  they  are 
emancipated  from  their  former  bondage  and 
made  the  sons  of  God.  God  is  no  longer  a 
hard  master,  but  a  kind  Father.  Obedience 
is  no  longer  a  task  to  be  done  for  a  reward ; 


JUSTIFICATION.  211 

it  is  the  joyful  expression  of  filial  love.  The 
whole  relation  of  the  soul  to  God  is  changed, 
and  all  our  feelings  and  conduct  change  with 
it.  Though  we  have  no  works  to  perform  in 
order  to  justification,  we  have  every  thing  to 
do  in  order  to  manifest  our  gratitude  and 
love.  Do  we,  therefore,  make  void  the  law 
through  faith  ?  God  forbid :  yea,  we  establish 
the  law.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  real,  ac- 
ceptable obedience  until  we  are  thus  deliver- 
ed from  the  bondage  of  the  law  as  the  rule  of 
justification,  and  are  reconciled  to  God  by  the 
death  of  his  Son.  Till  then  we  are  slaves 
and  enemies,  and  have  the  feelings  of  slaves. 
When  we  have  accepted  the  terms  of  recon- 
ciliation we  are  the  sons  of  God  and  have  the 
feelings  of  sons. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the 
filial  obedience  rendered  by  the  children  of 
God,  is  the  efl^ect  of  the  mere  moral  influence 
arising  from  a  sense  of  his  favour.  Though 
perhaps  the  strongest  influence  which  any 
external  consideration  can  exert,  it  is  far  from 
being  the  source  of  the  holiness  which  always 
follows  faith.  The  very  act  by  which  we  be- 
come interested  in  the  redemption  of  Christ, 
from  the  condemnation  of  the  law,  makes  us 
partakers  of  his  Spirit.     It  is  not  mere  par- 


212  JUSTIFICATION. 

don,  or  any  other  isolated  blessing,  that  is 
offered  to  us  in  the  gospel,  but  complete  re- 
demption, deliverance  from  evil  and  restora- 
tion to  the  love  and  life  of  God.  Those, 
therefore,  who  believe,  are  not  merely  for- 
given, but  are  so  united  to  Christ,  that  they 
derive  from  and  through  him,  the  Holy 
Spirit.  This  is  his  great  gift,  bestowed  upon 
all  who  come  to  Him  and  confide  in  Him. 
This  is  the  reason  why  he  says.  Without  me, 
ye  can  do  nothing.  As  the  branch  cannot 
bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in  the  vine ; 
no  more  can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in  me.  I 
am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches.  He  that 
abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bring- 
eth  forth  much  fruit. 

The  gospel  method  of  salvation,  therefore, 
is  worthy  of  all  acceptation.  It  reveals  the 
divine  perfections  in  the  clearest  and  most 
affecting  light,  and  it  is  in  every  way  suited 
to  the  character  and  necessities  of  men.  It 
places  us  in  our  true  position  as  undeserving 
sinners ;  and  it  secures  pardon,  peace  of  con- 
science and  holiness  of  life.  It  is  the  wisdom 
and  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  It 
cannot  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  Scrip- 
tures represent  the  rejection  of  this  method  of 
redemption,  as  the  prominent  ground  of  the 


JUSTIFICATION.  213 

condemnation  of  those  who  perish  under  the 
sound  of  the  gospel.  That  the  plan  should 
be  so  clearly  revealed,  and  yet  men  should 
insist  upon  adopting  some  other  better  suited 
to  their  inclinations,  is  the  height  of  folly  and 
disobedience.  That  the  Son  of  God  should 
come  into  the  world ;  die  the  just  for  the  un- 
just, and  offer  us  eternal  life,  and  yet  we 
should  reject  his  proffered  mercy,  proves  such 
an  insensibility  to  his  excellence  and  love, 
such  a  love  for  sin,  such  a  disregard  of  the 
approbation  and  enjoyment  of  God,  that  could 
all  other  grounds  of  condemnation  be  re- 
moved, this  alone  would  be  sufficient.  He 
that  believeth  not,  is  condemned  already,  be- 
cause he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God. 


CHAPTER  VL 


FAITH. 


Section  I.  Faith  necessary  in  order  to  sal- 
vation.    The  nature  of  saving  Faith. 

However  abundant  and  suitable  may  be 
the  provision  which  God  has  made  for  the 
salvation  of  men,  there  are  many  who  fail  of 
attaining  eternal  life.  There  are  those  whom 
Christ  shall  profit  nothing.  Nay,  there  are 
those  whose  condemnation  will  be  greatly  ag- 
gravated, because  they  have  known  and  re- 
jected the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world.  It  is,  therefore,  not  less  necessary 
that  we  should  know  what  we  must  do  in 
order  to  secure  an  interest  in  the  redemption 
of  Christ,  than  that  we  should  understand 
what  he  has  done  for  our  salvation. 

If  God  has  revealed  a  plan  of  salvation  for 
sinners,  they  must,  in  order  to  be  saved,  ac- 
quiesce in  its  provisions.  By  whatever  name 
it  may  be  called,  the  thing  to  be  done,  is  to 
approve  and  accept  of  the  terms  of  salvation 


FAITH.  215 

presented  in  the  gospel.  As  the  plan  of  re- 
demption is  designed  for  sinners,  the  recep- 
tion of  that  plan  on  our  part,  implies  an  ac- 
knowledgment that  we  are  sinners,  and  justly 
exposed  to  the  displeasure  of  God.  To  those 
who  have  no  such  sense  of  guilt,  it  must  ap- 
pear foolishness  and  an  offence.  As  it  pro- 
ceeds upon  the  assumption  of  the  insufficien- 
cy of  any  obedience  of  our  own  to  satisfy  the 
demands  of  the  law,  acquiescence  in  it  in- 
volves the  renunciation  of  all  dependence 
upon  our  own  righteousness  as  the  ground  of 
our  acceptance  with  God.  If  salvation  is  of 
grace,  it  must  be  received  as  such.  To  intro- 
duce our  own  merit,  in  any  form  or  to  any 
degree,  is  to  reject  it;  because  grace  and 
works  are  essentially  opposed ;  in  trusting  to 
the  one  we  renounce  the  other. 

.As  justification  is  pardon  and  acceptance 
dispensed  on  the  ground  of  the  righteousness 
of  Christ,  acquiescence  in  the  plan  of  salva- 
tion involves  the  recognition  and  acceptance 
of  the  work  of  Christ  as  the  only  ground  of 
justification  before  God.  However  much  the 
child  of  God  may  be  perplexed  with  anxious 
doui)ts,  and  vain  endeavours,  he  is  brought  at 
last  to  see  and  admire  the  perfect  simplicity 
of  the  plan  of  mercy ;  he  finds  that  it  requires 


216  FAITH. 

nothing  on  his  part  but  the  acceptance  of 
what  is  freely  offered ;  the  acceptance  of  it  as 
free  and  unmerited.  It  is  under  the  con- 
sciousness of  ill-desert  and  helplessness  that 
the  soul  embraces  Jesus  Christ  as  he  is  pre- 
sented in  the  gospel.  This  it  is  that  God 
requires  of  us  in  order  to  our  justification. 
As  soon  as  this  is  done,  we  are  united  to 
Christ;  he  assumes  our  responsibilities;  he 
pleads  our  cause ;  he  secures  our  pardon  and 
acceptance  on  the  ground  of  what  he  has 
done;  so  that  there  is  no  condemnation  to 
them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus. 

The  nature  of  the  duty  required  of  us  in 
order  to  our  justification,  is  made,  if  possible, 
still  more  plain  by  the  account  which  the 
Bible  gives  of  those  who  are  condemned. 
They  are  described  as  those  who  reject 
Christ,  who  go  about  to  establish  their  own 
righteousness,  and  refuse  to  submit  to  the 
righteousness  of  God;  as  those  who  look  to 
the  law  or  their  own  works,  instead  of  rely- 
ing on  the  work  of  Christ.  They  are  those 
who  reject  the  counsel  of  God  against  them- 
selves; who,  ignorant  of  their  character  and 
of  the  requirements  of  God,  refuse  to  be  saved 
by  grace  through  the  redemption  that  is  in 
Christ  Jesus. 


FAITH.  217 

The  word  by  which  this  acceptance  of 
Christ  is  commonly  expressed  in  the  Bible,  is 
FAITH.  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believ- 
eth  in  him  might  not  perish,  but  have  eternal 
life.  He  that  belie veth  on  him  is  not  con- 
demned; but  he  that  believeth  not  is  con- 
demned already.  He  that  believeth  on  the 
Son  hath  everlasting  life ;  he  that  believeth 
not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath 
of  God  abideth  on  him.  Verily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  you,  he  that  believeth  on  me  hath  ever- 
lasting life.  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature ;  he  that 
believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,  he 
that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned.  Sirs, 
what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  and  they  said, 
Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved.  God  is  just  and  the  justifier 
of  him  that  believeth  in  Jesus.  The  Gen- 
tiles have  attained  righteousness,  even  the 
righteousness  which  is  by  faith;  but  Israel 
hath  not  attained  it,  because  they  sought  it 
not  by  faith.  Knowing  that  a  man  is  not 
justified  by  works  of  the  law,  but  by  the  faith 
of  Jesus  Christ,  even  we  have  believed  in 
Jesus  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by 
the  faith  of  Christ  and  not  by  the  works  of 
19 


218  PAITH.  \ 

the  law.  By  grace  are  ye  saved  through 
faith,  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift 
of  God.  This  is  his  commandment.  That  we 
should  believe  on  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  He 
that  believeth  on  the  Son  of  God  hath  the 
witness  in  himself. 

Language  so  plain  and  so  varied  as  this, 
cannot  be  misunderstood.  It  teaches  every 
serious  inquirer  after  the  way  of  life,  that  in 
order  to  salvation,  he  must  believe  in  Jesus 
Christ.  Still,  though  he  knows  what  it  is  to 
believe,  as  well  as  any  one  can  tell  him,  yet 
as  he  reads  of  a  dead,  as  well  as  of  a  living 
faith,  a  faith  of  devils  and  a  faith  of  God's 
elect ;  as  he  reads  on  one  page  that  he  that 
believes  shall  be  saved,  and  on  another,  that 
Simon  himself  believed,  and  yet  remained  in 
the  gall  of  bitterness  and  the  bonds  of  iniqui- 
ty, he  is  often  greatly  perplexed  and  at  a  loss 
to  determine  what  that  faith  is,  which  is  con- 
nected with  salvation.  This  ambiguity  is  a 
difficulty  which  is  inseparable  from  the  use 
of  language.  The  soul  of  man  is  so  wonder- 
ful in  its  operations;  its  perceptions,  emo- 
tions, and  affections  are  so  various  and  so 
complicated,  that  it  is  impossible  there  should 
be  a  different  word  for  every  distinct  exercise. 
It  is  therefore  absolutely  necessary  that  the 


FAITH.  219 

same  word  should  be  used  to  express  different 
states  of  mind,  which  have  certain  prominent 
characteristics  in  common.  The  definite,  in 
distinction  from  the  general  or  comprehen- 
sive meaning  of  the  word,  is  determined  by 
the  context;  by  explanatory  or  equivalent 
expressions ;  by  the  nature  of  the  thing  spo- 
ken of,  and  by  the  effects  ascribed  to  it. 
This  is  found  sufficient  for  all  the  purposes 
of  intercourse  and  instruction.  We  can  speak 
without  being  misunderstood,  of  loving  our 
food,  of  loving  an  infant,  of  loving  a  parent, 
of  loving  God,  though  in  each  of  these  cases 
the  word  love  represents  a  state  of  mind  pecu- 
liar to  itself,  and  different  from  all  the  others. 
There  is  in  all  of  them  a  pleasurable  excite- 
ment on  the  perception  of  certain  qualities, 
and  this  we  call  love,  though  no  two  states  of 
mind  can  well  be  more  distinct,  than  the 
complacent  fondness  with  which  a  parent 
looks  upon  his  infant,  and  the  adoring  reve- 
rence with  which  he  turns  his  soul  towards 
God. 

We  need  not  be  surprised,  therefore,  that 
the  word  faith  is  used  in  Scripture  to  express 
very  different  exercises,  or  states  of  mind. 
In  its  widest  sense,  faith  is  an  assent  to  truth 
upon  the  exhibition  of  evidence.     It  does  not 


220  FAITH. 

seem  necessary  that  this  evidence  should  be 
of  the  nature  of  testimony ;  for  we  are  com- 
monly and  properly  said  to  believe  vrhatever 
we  regard  as  true.  We  believe  in  the  exist- 
ence and  attributes  of  God,  though  our  assent 
is  not  founded  upon  what  is  strictly  called 
testimony.  But  if  faith  means  assent  to 
truth,  it  is  obvious  that  its  nature  and  attend- 
ants must  vary  with  the  nature  of  the  truth 
believed,  and  especially  with  the  nature  of 
the  evidence  upon  which  our  assent  is  found- 
ed. A  man  may  assent  to  the  proposition, 
that  the  earth  moves  round  its  axis,  that  vir- 
tue is  good,  that  sin  will  be  punished,  that  to 
liim,  as  a  believer,  God  promises  salvation. 
In  all  these  cases  there  is  assent,  and  there- 
fore faith,  but  the  state  of  mind  expressed  by 
the  term,  is  not  always  the  same.  Assent  to 
a  speculative  or  abstract  truth  is  a  specula- 
tive act ;  assent  to  a  moral  truth,  is  a  moral 
act ;  assent  to  a  promise  made  to  ourselves,  is 
an  act  of  trust.  Our  belief  that  the  earth 
moves  round  its  axis  is  a  mere  assent.  Our 
belief  in  the  excellence  of  virtue  is,  in  its  na- 
ture, a  moral  judgment.  Our  belief  of  a  pro- 
mise is  an  act  of  trust.  Or  if  any  choose  to 
say  that  trust  is  the  result  of  assent  to  the 
truth  of  the  promise,  it  may  be  admitted  as  a 


FAITH.  221 

mere  matter  of  analysis,  but  the  distinction 
is  of  no  consequence,  because  the  two  things 
are  inseparable,  and  because  the  Scriptures 
do  not  make  the  distinction.  In  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Bible,  faith  in  the  promises  of 
God  is  a  believing  reliance,  and  no  blessing 
is  connected  with  mere  assent  as  distinguish- 
ed and  separated  from  reliance. 

It  is,  however,  of  more  consequence  to 
remark  that  the  nature  of  the  act  by  which 
we  assent  to  truth,  is  modified  by  the  kind  of 
evidence  upon  which  our  assent  is  founded. 
The  blind  may  believe,  on  the  testimony  of 
others,  in  the  existence  of  colours  and  the 
deaf  in  the  harmony  of  sounds,  but  their  faith 
is  very  different  from  the  faith  of  those  who 
enjoy  the  exercise  of  the  sense  of  sight  or 
hearing.  The  universal  reputation  of  such 
men  as  Bacon  and  Newton  and  the  acknow- 
ledged influence  of  their  writings,  may  be 
the  foundation  of  a  very  rational  conviction 
of  their  intellectual  superiority.  But  a  con- 
viction, founded  upon  the  perusal  and  appre- 
ciation of  their  own  works,  is  of  an  essential- 
ly different  character.  We  may  believe  on 
the  testimony  of  those  in  whose  veracity  and 
judgment  we  confide,  that  a  man  of  whom 
we  know  nothing  ha»  great  moral  excellence. 
19* 


222  FAITH. 

But  if  we  see  for  ourselves  the  exhibition  of 
his  excellence,  we  believe  for  other  reasons, 
and  in  a  different  way.  The  state  of  mind, 
therefore,  which,  in  the  language  of  common 
life  and  in  that  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  is 
expressed  by  the  word  faith,  varies  essential- 
ly with  the  nature  of  the  evidence  upon 
which  our  belief  rests. 

One  man  believes  the  Bible  to  be  the  word 
of  God,  and  the  facts  and  doctrines  therein 
contained  to  be  true,  simply  on  the  testimo- 
ny of  others.  Born  in  a  Christian  land  and 
taught  by  his  parents  to  regard  the  Scrip- 
tures as  a  revelation  from  God,  he  yields  a 
general  assent  to  the  truth,  without  troubling 
himself  with  any  personal  examination  iato 
the  evidence  upon  which  it  rests.  Another 
believes  because  he  has  investigated  the  sub- 
ject. He  sees  that  there  is  no  rational  w^ay 
of  accounting  for  the  miracles,  the  accom- 
plishment of  predictions,  the  success  and 
influence  of  the  gospel,  except  upon  the 
assumption  of  its  divine  origin.  Others, 
again,  believe  because  the  truths  of  the  Bible 
commend  themselves  to  their  reason  and 
conscience,  and  accord  with  their  inward  ex- 
perience. Those,  whose  faith  .rests  upon  this 
foundation,  often  receive  the  word  with  joy, 


FAITH.  223 

they  do  many  things,  and  have  much  of  the 
appearance  of  true  Christians ;  or,  like  Felix, 
they  believe  and  tremble.  This  is  the  founda- 
tion of  the  faith  which  often  surprises  the 
vricked  in  their  last  hours.  Men  who  all 
their  lives  have  neglected  or  reviled  the 
truth  and  who  may  have  accumulated  a  trea- 
sury of  objections  to  the  authority  of  the 
Scriptures,  are  often  brought  to  believe  by  a 
power  which  they  cannot  resist.  An  awaken- 
ed conscience  affirms  the  truth  with  an 
authority  before  which  they  quail.  Their 
doubts  and  sophistries  fly  affrighted  before 
the  majesty  of  this  new  revealed  witness  for 
the  truth.  To  disbelieve  is  now  impossible. 
That  there  is  a  God,  that  he  is  holy  and  just, 
and  that  there  is  a  hell,  they  would  give  the 
world  to  doubt,  but  cannot.  Here  is  a  faith 
very  different  in  its  origin,  nature,  and  effects 
from  that  which  rests  upon  the  authority  of 
men,  or  upon  external  evidence  and  argu- 
ment. Though  the  faith  just  described,  is 
generally  most  strikingly  exhibited  at  the  ap- 
proach of  death,  it  often  happens  that  men 
who  are  habitually  careless,  are  suddenly 
arrested  in  their  career.  Their  conscience  is 
aroused  and  enlightened.  They  feel  those 
things  to  be  true,  which  before  they  either 


224  FAITH. 

denied  or  disregarded.  The  truth,  therefore, 
has  great  power  over  them.  It  destroys  their 
former  peace.  It  forces  them  to  self-denial 
and  the  performance  of  religious  duties. 
Sometimes  this  influence  soon  wears  off,  as 
conscience  subsides  into  its  accustomed  slum- 
ber. At  others  it  continues  long,  even  to  the 
end  of  life.  It  then  constitutes  that  spirit  of 
bondage  and  fear  under  which  its  unhappy 
subjects  endeavour  to  work  out  a  way  to 
heaven,  without  embracing  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God.  The  effects  produced  by  a 
faith  of  this  kind,  though  specifically  differ- 
ent from  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  are  not  al- 
ways easily  detected  by  the  eye  of  man. 
And  hence  many  who  appear  outwardly  as 
the  children  of  God,  are  inwardly  under  the 
dominion  of  a  spirit  the  opposite  of  the  lov- 
ing, confiding,  filial  temper  of  the  gospel. 

There  is  a  faith  different  from  any  of  those 
forms  of  belief  which  have  yet  been  mention- 
ed It  is  a  faith  which  rests  upon  the  mani- 
festation by  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  the  excellence, 
beauty,  and  suitableness  of  the  truth.  This 
is  what  Peter  calls  the  precious  faith  of  God's 
elect.  It  arises  from  a  spiritual  apprehension 
of  the  truth,  or  from  the  testimony  of  the 
Spirit  with  and  by  the  truth  in  our  hearts. 


FAITH.  225 

Of  this  faith  the  Scriptures  make  frequent 
mention.  Christ  said,  I  thank  thee,  O  Father, 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  thou  hast  hid 
these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and 
hast  revealed  them  unto  babes. ^  The  ex- 
ternal revelation  was  made  equally  to  the 
wise  and  to  the  babes.  To  the  latter,  how- 
ever, was  granted  an  inward  illumination 
which  enabled  them  to  see  the  excellence  of 
the  truth,  which  commanded  their  joyful  as- 
sent. Our  Saviour  therefore  added.  No  man 
knoweth  who  the  Son  is,  but  the  Father; 
and  who  the  Father  is,  but  the  Son,  and  he 
to  whom  the  Son  will  reveal  him.  When 
Peter  made  his  confession  of  faith  in  Christ, 
our  Saviour  said  to  him,  Blessed  art  thou, 
Simon  Bar-jona  :  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not 
revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which 
is  in  heaven,  t  Paul  was  a  persecutor  of  the 
church ;  but  when  it  pleased  God  to  reveal 
his  Son  in  him,  he  at  once  preached  the  faith 
which  he  before  destroyed.  He  had  an  ex- 
ternal knowledge  of  Christ  before ;  but  this 
internal  revelation  he  experienced  on  his  way 
to  Damascus,  and  it  effected  an  instant 
change  in  his  whole  character.  There  was 
nothing  miraculous  or  peculiar  in  the  conver- 
♦  Luke  X.  21.  t  Matthew  xvi.  17. 


226  FAITH. 

sion  of  the  apostle,  except  in  the  mere  inci- 
dental circumstances  of  his  case.  He  speaks 
of  all  believers  as  having  the  same  divine 
illumination.  God,  he  says,  v^ho  command- 
ed the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  hath 
shined  into  our  hearts,  to  give  us  the  light  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  as  it 
shines  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.^  On  the 
other  hand,  he  speaks  of  those  w^hose  minds 
the  god  of  this  vi^orld  hath  blinded,  lest  the 
light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ,  who  is 
the  image  of  God,  should  shine  unto  them. 
In  the  second  chapter  of  his  first  epistle  to 
the  Corinthians,  he  dwells  much  upon  this 
subject,  and  teaches  not  only  that  the  true 
divine  wisdom  of  the  gospel  was  undiscover- 
able  by  human  wisdom,  but  that  when  exter- 
nally revealed,  we  need  the  Spirit  that  we 
may  know  the  things  freely  given  to  us  of 
God.  For  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the 
things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  fool- 
ishness unto  him,  neither  can  he  know  them 
for  they  are  spiritually  discerned.  Hence 
the  apostle  prays  for  his  readers,  that  the 
eyes  of  their  understandings  (hearts)  might 
be  opened,  that  they  might  know  the  hope  of 
their  calling,  the  riches  of  their  inheritance, 

*  2  Cor.  iv.  6. 


FAITH.  227 

and  the  greatness  of  the  divine  power  of 
which  they  were  the  subjects.*  And  in 
another  place,  that  they  might  be  filled  with 
the  knowledge  of  his  will,  in  all  wisdom  and 
spiritual  understanding,  f  By  spiritual  un- 
derstanding is  meant  that  insight  into  the 
nature  of  the  truth  which  is  the  result  of  the 
influence  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  heart.  Since 
faith  is  founded  on  this  spiritual  apprehen- 
sion, Paul  says,  he  preached  not  with  the 
enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  because  a 
faith  which  resulted  from  such  preaching 
could  be  at  best  a  rational  conviction ;  but  in 
the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power, 
that  the  faith  of  his  hearers  might  stand,  not 
in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of 
God.  J  Hence  faith  is  said  to  be  one  of  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit,  the  gift  of  God,  the  result 
of  his  operation.  ^  These  representations  of 
the  Scriptures  accord  with  the  experience  of 
the  people  of  God.  They  know  that  their 
faith  is  not  founded  upon  the  testimony  of 
others,  or  exclusively  or  mainly  upon  exter- 
nal evidence.  They  believe  because  the 
truth  appears  to  them  both  true  and  good ; 
because  they  feel  its  power  and  experience 
its  consolations. 

*  Eph.  i.  18,  19.  t  Colossiana,  i.  9. 

t  1  Cor.  ii.  4,  5.  }  Eph.  ii.  8.      Col.  ii.  12. 


228  FAITH, 

It  is  obvious  that  a  faith  founded  upon  the 
spiritual  apprehension  of  the  truth,  as  it  dif- 
fers in  its  origin,  must  also  differ  in  its  effects, 
from  every  other  kind  of  belief  Of  the  mul- 
titudes who  believe  the  Scriptures  upon  au- 
thority or  on  the  ground  of  external  evidence, 
how  large  a  portion  disregard  their  precepts 
and  warnings !  To  say  that  such  persons  do 
not  believe,  though  true  in  one  sense,  is  not 
true  in  another.  They  do  believe ;  and  to  as- 
sert the  contrary  is  to  contradict  their  con- 
sciousness. The  state  of  mind  which  they 
exhibit,  is  in  the  Bible  called  faith,  though  it 
is  dead.  This  rational  conviction,  in  other 
cases,  combined  with  other  causes,  produces 
that  decorous  attention  to  the  duties  of  reli- 
gion and  that  general  propriety  of  conduct, 
which  are  so  often  exhibited  by  the  hearers  of 
the  gospel.  The  faith  which  is  founded  on 
the  power  of  conscience,  produces  still  more 
marked  effects;  either  temporary  obedience 
and  joy,  or  the  despair  and  opposition  mani- 
fested by  the  convinced,  the  dying,  and  the 
lost ;  or  that  laborious  slavery  of  religion  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken.  But  that 
faith,  which  is  the  gift  of  God,  which  arises 
from  his  opening  our  eyes  to  see  the  excel- 
lence pf  tl^e  truth,  is  attended  with  joy  and 


FAITH.  229 

love.  These  feelings  are  as  immediately  and 
necessarily  attendant  on  this  kind  of  faith,  as 
pleasure  is  on  the  perception  of  beauty. 
Hence  faith  is  said  to  work  by  love.  And  as 
all  revealed  truth  is  the  object  of  the  faith  of 
which  we  now  speak,  every  truth  must,  in 
proportion  to  the  strength  of  our  faith,  pro- 
duce its  appropriate  effect  upon  the  heart. 
A  belief  of  the  being  and  perfections  of  God, 
founded  upon  the  apprehension  of  his  glory, 
must  produce  love,  reverence  and  confidence, 
with  a  desire  to  be  conformed  to  his  image. 
Hence  the  apostle  says:  We  all,  with  open 
face,  beholding,  as  in  a  glass,  the  glory  of 
God,  are  changed  into  the  same  image  from 
glory  to  glory,  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.* 
Faith  in  his  threatenings,  founded  upon  a 
perception  of  their  justice,  their  harmony 
with  his  perfections,  and  the  ill-desert  of  sin, 
must  produce  fear  and  trembling.  His  peo- 
ple, therefore,  are  described  as  those  who 
tremble  at  his  word.  Faith  in  his  promises, 
founded  upon  the  apprehension  of  his  faith- 
fulness and  power,  their  harmony  with  all  his 
revealed  purposes,  their  suitableness  to  our 
nature  and  necessities,  must  produce  confi- 

*2Cor.  iii.  18. 
20 


230  FAITH. 

dence,  joy  and  hope.  This  was  the  faith 
which  made  Abraham  leave  his  own  conn- 
try,  to  go  to  a  strange  land ;  which  led  Moses 
to  esteem  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater 
riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt.  This 
was  the  faith  of  David  also,  of  Samuel,  and 
of  all  the  prophets,  who  through  faith  sub- 
dued kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness,  ob- 
tained promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions, 
quenched  the  violence  of  fire,  escaped  the 
edge  of  the  sword,  out  of  weakness  were 
made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight,  turned 
to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens.  This  is  the 
faith  which  leads  all  the  people  of  God  to 
confess  that  they  are  strangers  and  pilgrims 
upon  earth,  and  that  they  look  for  a  city 
which  hath  foundations,  whose  builder  and 
maker  is  God.  This  is  the  faith  which  over- 
comes the  world,  which  leads  the  believer  to 
set  his  affections  on  things  above,  where 
Christ  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God; 
which  enables  him  to  glory  even  in  tribula- 
tion, while  he  looks  not  at  the  things  which 
are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not 
seen ;  for  the  things  that  are  seen  are  tempo- 
ral, but  the  things  that  are  not  seen  are  eter- 
nal. 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  a  faith  in  Jesus 


FAITH.  231 

Christ  founded  upon  the  apprehension  of  the 
glory  of  God,  as  it  shines  in  him ;  which  be- 
holds that  glory  as  the  glory  of  the  only  be- 
gotten of  the  Father  full  of  grace  and  truth ; 
which  contemplates  the  Redeemer  as  clothed 
in  our  nature ;  the  first  born  of  many  brethren ; 
as  dying  for  our  sins,  rising  again  for  our  jus- 
tification, ascending  into  heaven,  and  as  now 
seated  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  where  he 
ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us  ?  Such 
a  faith  the  apostle  tells  us,  must  produce  love, 
for  he  says,  Whom  having  not  seen  ye  love, 
and  in  whom,  though  now  ye  see  him  not, 
yet  believing,  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory.  The  soul  gladly  receives 
him  as  a  Saviour  in  all  the  characters  and  for 
all  the  purposes  for  which  he  is  revealed ;  and 
naturally  desires  to  be  conformed  to  his  will, 
and  to  make  known  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  his  grace  to  others. 

It  is  no  less  obvious  that  no  one  can  believe 
the  representations  given  in  the  Scriptures 
respecting  the  character  of  man  and  the  ill- 
desert  of  sin,  with  a  faith  founded  upon  right 
apprehension  of  the  holiness  of  God  and  the 
evil  of  his  own  heart,  without  experiencing 
self-condemnation,  self-abhorrence,  and  a  con- 
stant hungering  and  thirsting  after  righteous- 


232  FAITH. 

ness.  Thus  of  all  the  truths  in  the  word  of 
God,  it  may  be  said,  that  so  far  as  they  are 
believed  in  virtue  of  this  spiritual  apprehen- 
sion, they  will  exert  their  appropriate  influ- 
ence upon  the  heart  and  consequently  upon 
the  life.  That  such  a  faith  should  not  pro- 
duce good  fruits,  is  as  impossible  as  that  the 
sun  should  give  light  without  heat.  This 
faith  is  the  living  head  of  all  right  affections 
and  of  all  holy  living ;  without  it  all  religion 
is  a  dull  formality,  a  slavish  drudgery,  or  at 
best  a  rationalistic  homage.  Hence  we  are 
said,  to  live  by  faith,  to  walk  by  faith,  to  be 
sanctified  by  faith,  to  overcome  by  faith,  to 
be  saved  by  faith.  And  the  grand  character- 
istic of  the  people  of  God  is,  that  they  are 
Believers. 

Section  II.  Faith  as  connected  with  Jus- 
tification. 

What  has  been  said  hitherto  is  designed  to 
illustrate  the  nature  of  saving  faith,  as  it  is 
represented  in  the  Scriptures.  It  differs  from 
all  other  acts  of  the  mind  to  which  the  term 
faith  is  applied,  mainly  on  account  of  the  na- 
ture of  the  evidence  on  which  it  is  founded. 
The  Bible,  however,  is  more  definite  in  its 


FAITH.  233 

instructions  on  this  subject.  Besides  teach- 
ing us  that  there  is  a  faith  which  receives  as 
true  all  the  declarations  of  God,  in  virtue  of 
an  evidence  exhibited  and  applied  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  it  tells  us  what  those  particular 
acts  of  faith  are,  which  secure  our  justifica- 
tion before  God.  It  plainly  teaches  that  we 
are  justified  by  those  acts  of  faith  which  have 
a  special  reference  to  Christ  and  his  mediato- 
rial work.  Thus  we  are  said  to  be  justified 
by  faith  in  his  blood.*  The  righteousness  of 
God  is  said  to  be  by  faith  of  Jesus  Christ; 
that  is,  by  faith  of  which  he  is  the  object. f 
This  expression  occurs  frequently ;  Knowing, 
says  the  apostle,  that  a  man  is  not  justified 
by  the  works  of  the  law,  but  by  the  faith  of 
Jesus  Christ,  even  we  have  believed  in  Jesus 
Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  the  faith 
of  Christ.  J  Not  having  my  own  righteous- 
ness, which  is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is 
through  the  faith  of  Christ.^  In  all  these 
places,  and  in  many  others  of  a  similar  kind, 
it  is  expressly  stated  that  Christ  is  the  object 
of  justifying  faith.  The  same  doctrine  is 
taught  in  those  numerous  passages,  in  which 

♦  Rom.  iii.  23.  t  Rom-  "i-  22. 

I  Gal.  ii.  16.  5  Phil.  iii.  9. 

20* 


234  FAITH. 

justification  or  salvation  is  connected  with  be- 
lieving in  Christ.     Whosoever  believeth  in 
him  shall  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life.* 
He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting 
life.f     Whosoever  believeth  on  him  shall  re- 
ceive remission  of  sins.f     Believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.  §     The 
same  truth  is  involved  in  all  the  representa- 
tions of  the  method  of  justification  given  in 
the  w^ord  of  God.     We  are  said  to  be  justified 
by  the  death  of  Christ,  by  the  blood  of  his 
cross,  by  the  redemption  that  is  in  him,  by 
the  sacrifice  of  himself,  by  his  bearing  our 
sins,  by  his  obedience,  or  righteousness.     All 
these  representations  imply  that  Christ  in  his 
mediatorial  character,  is  the  special  object  of 
justifying  faith.     It  is  indeed  impossible  that 
any  man  should  believe  the   record  w^hich 
God  has  given  of  his  Son,  vrithout  believing 
every  other  record  which  he  has  given,  so  far 
as  it  is  known  and  apprehended;   still  the 
special  act  of  faith,  which  is  connected  with 
our  justification,  is  belief  in  Jesus  Christ  as 
the   Saviour   from  sin.     And  when  we  are 
commanded  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  the 

*  John  iii.  16.  f  John  iii.  36. 

\  Acts  X.  43,  5  Acts  xvi.  31. 


FAITH.  235 

Scriptural  meaning  of  the  expression  is,  that 
we  should  trust,  or  confide  in  him.  It  does 
not  express  mere  assent  to  the  proposition 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  which  angels  and 
devils  exercise ;  but  it  expresses  trust  which 
involves  knowledge  and  assent.  To  believe 
in  Christ  as  a  propitiation  for  sin,  is  to  receive 
and  confide  in  him  as  such. 

From  this  representation  it  is  clear  what 
we  must  do  to  be  saved.  When  the  mind  is 
perplexed  and  anxious  from  a  sense  of  sin  and 
the  accusations  of  conscience ;  when  the  trou- 
bled spirit  looks  round  for  some  way  of  escape 
from  the  just  displeasure  of  God,  the  voice  of 
mercy  from  the  lips  of  the  Son  of  God  is.  Come 
unto  me,  believe  upon  me,  submit  to  be  saved 
by  me.  Till  this  is  done,  nothing  is  done. 
And  when  this  cordial  act  of  faith  in  Christ 
is  exercised,  we  are  accepted  for  his  sake,  and 
he  undertakes  to  save  us  from  the  dominion 
and  condemnation  of  our  sins.  The  expe- 
rience of  the  people  of  God,  when  they  are 
made  the  recipients  of  that  divine  illumina- 
tion which  reveals  to  them  the  glory  of  God, 
their  own  un worthiness,  and  the  plan  of  sal- 
,  vation  by  Jesus  Christ,  is  no  doubt  very  va- 
rious. It  is  modified  by  their  previous  know- 
ledge, by  their  peculiar  state  of  mind,  by  the 


236  FAITH. 

particular  truth  which  happens  to  attract 
their  attention,  by  the  clearness  of  the  mani- 
festation and  by  many  other  circumstances. 
This  diversity  is  readily  admitted,  yet  since 
no  man  can  come  unto  the  Father  but  by  the 
Son ;  since  without  faith  in  him  there  is  no 
forgiveness  and  no  access  to  God,  it  must  still 
be  true  that,  with  greater  or  less  distinctness 
of  apprehension,  Christ  and  his  mediatorial 
work  constitute  the  object  of  the  first  gra- 
cious exercises  of  the  renewed  soul.  Any 
approach  to  God,  any  hope  of  his  favour,  any 
peace  of  conscience  or  confidence  of  pardon, 
not  founded  upon  him,  must  be  delusive. 
Having,  (that  is,  because  we  have)  such  an 
High  Priest  we  come  with  boldness  to  the 
throne  of  grace ;  and  this  is  the  only  ground 
on  which  we  can  venture  to  draw  near. 
The  whole  plan  of  redemption  shows  that 
there  is  no  pardon,  no  access  to  God,  no 
peace  or  reconciliation  except  through  Jesus 
Christ.  And  this  idea  is  so  constantly  pre- 
sented in  the  Bible,  that  all  genuine  religious 
experience  must  be  in  accordance  with  it. 

It  is,  however,  of  such  vital  importance  for 
the  sinner  distinctly  to  understand  what  it  is 
that  is  required  of  him,  that  God  has  gra- 
ciously so   illustrated  the  nature  of  saving 


FAITH.  237 

faith  that  the  most  illiterate  reader  of  the 
Scriptures  may  learn  the  way  of  life.  It  is 
not  merely  by  the  term  faith,  or  believing, 
that  this  act  of  the  soul  is  expressed,  but  by 
many  others  of  equivalent  import.  The  con- 
sideration of  a  few  of  these  will  serve  to  ex- 
plain more  distinctly  the  plan  of  salvation, 
by  showing  at  once  the  nature,  object  and 
office  of  justifying  faith. 

One  of  the  most  comprehensive  and  intelli- 
gible of  these  equivalent  terms  is  that  of  re- 
ceiving. To  as  many  as  received  him,  to 
them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of 
God.^  As  ye  have  therefore  received  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord  so  walk  ye  in  him.f  Be- 
lievers are  therefore  described  as  those  who 
receive  the  gift  of  righteousness  ;t  as  those 
who  gladly  receive  the  word.^  To  receive 
Jesus  Christ  is  to  accept  and  recognise  him 
in  the  character  in  which  he  presents  him- 
self, as  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  sin- 
ners, as  a  propitiation  for  our  sins,  as  a 
ransom  for  our  souls,  as  the  Lord  our  righte- 
ousness. He  came  to  his  own  and  his  own 
received  him  not.     The  Jews  would  not  re- 

*  John  i.  12.  f  Col.  ii.  6. 

I  Rom.  V.  17.  5  Acts  ii.  41. 


238  FAITH. 

cognise  him  as  the  Messiah,  the  only  media- 
tor between  God  and  man,  as  the  end  of  the 
law  for  righteousness.  They  denied  the 
Holy  One,  and  put  far  from  them  the  offer  of 
life  through  him.  Could  the  nature,  the  ob- 
ject, or  office  of  faith  be  presented  more  clear- 
ly than  they  are  by  this  representation? 
Can  the  soul,  anxious  about  salvation,  doubt 
what  it  has  to  do  ?  Jesus  Christ  is  presented 
to  him  in  the  gospel  as  the  Son  of  God, 
clothed  in  our  nature,  sent  by  the  Father  to 
make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  to  bring  in 
everlasting  righteousness,  to  redeem  us  from 
the  curse  of  the  law  by  being  made  a  curse 
for  us.  All  that  we  have  to  do,  is  to  receive 
him  in  this  character ;  and  those  who  thus 
receive  him  he  makes  the  sons  of  God,  that 
is,  the  objects  of  his  favour,  the  subjects  of 
his  grace  and  the  heirs  of  his  kingdom. 

A  still  more  simple  illustration  of  the  na- 
ture of  faith  is  contained  in  those  passages  in 
which  we  are  commanded  to  look  unto  God. 
Look  unto  me  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends 
of  the  earth.*  Our  Saviour  avails  himself 
of  this  figure,  when  he  says,  As  Moses  lifted 
up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so 
must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up,  that  who- 
♦  Is.  xlv.  22. 


FAITH.  239 

soever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish 
but  have  eternal  life.^  The  dying  Israelite, 
who  was  commanded  to  turn  his  feeble  eye 
on  the  brazen  serpent,  was  surely  at  no  loss 
to  know  the  nature  of  the  duty  required  of 
him.  He  knew  there  was  no  virtue  in  the 
act  of  looking.  He  might  look  in  vain  all 
round  the  wide  horizon.  He  was  healed, 
not  for  looking,  but  because  the  serpent  was 
placed  there  by  the  command  of  God,  and 
salvation  made  to  depend  upon  submitting  to 
the  appointed  method  of  relief.  Why  then 
should  the  soul  convinced  of  sin  and  misery 
be  in  doubt  as  to  what  it  has  to  do  ?  Christ 
has  been  set  forth  as  crucified ;  and  we  are 
commanded  to  look  to  him  and  be  saved. 
Can  any  thing  be  more  simple  ?  Must  not 
every  attempt  to  render  more  intelligible  the 
Saviour's  beautiful  illustration,  serve  only  to 
darken  counsel  by  words  without  wisdom  ? 

Another  striking  illustration  of  this  subject, 
may  be  found  in  Heb.  vi.  18,  where  believers 
are  described  as  those  who  have  fled  for 
refuge  to  lay  hold  of  the  hope  set  before 
them.  As  of  old,  the  man-slayer,  when  pur- 
sued by  the  avenger  of  blood,  fled  to  the  city 
of  refuge,  whose  gates  were  open  night  and 

*  John  iii.  14,  15. 


240  FAITH. 

day,  and  whose  highways  were  always  unin- 
cumbered ;  so  the  soul,  under  the  sense  of  its 
guilt  and  convinced  that  it  must  perish  if  it 
remains  where  it  is,  flees  to  Jesus  Christ,  as 
the  appointed  refuge  and  finds  peace  and  se- 
curity in  him.  There  the  avenger  cannot 
touch  him ;  there  the  law  which  before  de- 
nounced vengeance,  spreads  its  ample  shield 
around  him  and  gives  him  the  assurance  of 
safety. 

A  still  more  common  method  of  expressing 
the  act  of  saving  faith,  is  to  be  found  in  such 
passages  as  John  vi.  35.  He  that  cometh  to 
me  shall  never  hunger,  and  he  that  believeth 
on  me  shall  never  thirst.  All  that  the  Father 
giveth  to  me  shall  come  to  me ;  and  him  that 
cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out. 
Here  coming  and  believing  are  interchanged 
as  expressing  the  same  idea.  So  also  in  the 
following  chapter,  where  our  Saviour  says, 
If  any  man  thirst  let  him  come  unto  me  and 
drink.  He  that  believeth  on  me,  as  the 
Scripture  hath  said,  out  of  his  belly  shall 
flow  rivers  of  living  waters.  Hence  the  in- 
vitations and  commands  of  the  gospel  are 
often  expressed  by  this  word.  Come  unto 
me  all  ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest.     And  in  the  closing 


FAITH.  241 

invitation  of  the  sacred  volume,  The  Spirit 
and  the  bride  say,  Come ;  and  let  him  that 
heareth,  say,  Come ;  and  let  him  that  is 
athirst  come ;  and  whosoever  will,  let  him 
take  the  water  of  life  freely. 

Though  this  language  is  so  plain  that  no- 
thing but  the  illumination  of  the  Spirit  can 
render  it  plainer,  yet  the  troubled  soul  per- 
plexes itself  with  the  inquiry,  what  is  it  to 
come  to  Christ  ?  Though  assured  that  he  is 
not  far  from  any  one  of  us,  we  are  often  forc- 
ed to  cry  out,  O  that  I  knew  where  I  might 
find  him  !  that  I  might  come  even  to  his  seat. 
Behold,  I  go  forward,  but  he  is  not  there ; 
and  backward,  but  I  cannot  perceive  him ;  on 
the  left  hand,  where  he  doth  work,  but  I  can- 
not behold  him;  he  hideth  himself  on  the 
right  hand,  that  I  cannot  see  him.  It  is  often 
the  very  simplicity  of  the  requirement  that 
deceives  us.  We  think  we  must  do  some 
great  thing,  which  shall  bear  a  certain  pro- 
portion to  the  blessing  connected  with  it. 
We  cannot  believe  that  it  is  merely  looking, 
merely  receiving,  merely  coming  as  the  pro- 
digal came  to  his  father,  or  as  the  Israelite 
came  to  the  high  priest  who  was  appointed 
to  make  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  people. 
Yet  is  it  even  thus  that  we  must  come  to  the 
21 


243  FAITH. 

High  Priest  of  our  profession,  with  confession 
of  sin,  and  submit  to  the  application  of  his 
blood  as  the  appointed  means  of  pardon,  and 
rejoice  in  the  assurance  of  the  divine  favour. 
Or  still  more  impressively,  as  the  Hebrew 
believer  came  to  the  altar,  laid  his  hand  with 
confession  upon  the  head  of  the  victim,  and 
saw  it  die  in  his  stead,  so  does  the  trembling 
soul  come  to  Christ  as  its  propitiatory  sacri- 
fice, and  confiding  in  the  efficacy  of  his 
death,  looks  up  to  God  and  says.  My  Father ! 
Coming  to  Christ,  therefore,  is  the  confiding 
reception  of  him  in  the  offices  and  for  the 
purposes  for  which  he  is  presented  in  the 
word  of  God,  as  our  mediator  and  priest,  as 
our  advocate  with  the  Father,  as  our  Re- 
deemer and  Lord. 

Another  term  by  which  faith  is  expressed 
is  submitting.  This  is  not  to  be  understood 
as  meaning  a  submission  to  the  will  of  God 
as  a  sovereign  ruler,  a  giving  up  all  our  con- 
troversy with  him  and  resigning  ourselves 
into  his  hands.  All  this  is  duty,  but  it  is  not 
saving  faith.  The  submission  required  is 
submission  to  the  revealed  plan  of  salvation ; 
it  is  the  giving  up  all  excuses  for  our  sins,  all 
dependence  upon  our  own  righteousness,  and 
submitting  to  the  righteousness  which  God 


FAITH.  243 

has  provided  for  our  justification.  This  is 
what  the  Jews  refused  to  do,  and  perished  in 
unbelief*  This  is  what  we  must  do,  in 
order  to  be  saved.  Men,  when  sensible  of 
their  guilt  and  danger,  are  perplexed  and 
anxious  about  many  things.  But  there  is 
only  one  thing  for  them  to  do.  They  must 
submit  to  be  saved  as  ungodly,  as  sinners,  as 
entirely  undeserving,  solely  for  Christ's  sake. 
They  must  consent  to  allow  the  robe  of  his 
righteousness  to  be  cast  over  all  their  naked- 
ness and  blood,  that  they  may  be  found  in 
him,  not  having  their  own  righteousness,  but 
the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ.  Then  will  they  be  prepared  to  join 
that  great  multitude  which  stand  before  the 
throne  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  in  white 
robes  and  palms  in  their  hands,  crying  with 
a  loud  voice.  Salvation  to  our  God  who  sitteth 
upon  the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb,  for  thou 
wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  unto  God 
by  thy  blood,  out  of  every  kindred,  and  peo- 
ple, and  tongue,  and  nation,  and  hast  made 
us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests. 

It  is  thus  that  the  Bible  answers  the  ques- 
tion, What  must  we  do  to  be  saved  ?  We  are 
told  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and 

*  Rom.  X.  3,  and  xi.  20. 


244  FAITH. 

to  set  forth  the  nature,  the  object  and  office 
of  this  faith,  the  Scriptures  employ  the  most 
significant  terms  and  illustrations,  in  order 
that  we  may  learn  to  renounce  ourselves  and 
our  works,  and  to  be  found  in  Christ  depend- 
ing solely  upon  what  He  has  done  and  suffer- 
ed as  the  ground  of  our  acceptance  with  God. 
Those  who  thus  believe,  have  passed  from 
death  unto  life ;  they  are  no  longer  under  con- 
demnation; they  have  peace  with  God  and 
rejoice  in  hope  of  his  glory.  As  this  faith 
unites  them  with  Christ,  it  makes  them  not 
only  partakers  of  his  death,  but  of  his  life. 
The  Holy  Spirit,  given  without  measure  to 
him,  is  through  him  given  unto  them,  and 
works  in  them  the  fruits  of  holiness,  which 
are  unto  the  praise  and  glory  of  God, 


CHAPTER  VII. 


REPENTANCE. 


Clearly  as  the  Scriptures  teach  that  who- 
soever believes  shall  be  saved,  they  teach  no 
less  clearly  that  except  we  repent  we  shall  all 
perish.  These  graces  are  not  only  alike  in- 
dispensable, but  they  cannot  exist  separately. 
Repentance  is  a  turning  from  sin  unto  God, 
through  Jesus  Christ,  and  faith  is  the  accept- 
ance of  Christ  in  order  to  our  return  to  God. 
Repentance  is  the  act  of  a  believer ;  and  faith 
is  the  act  of  a  penitent.  So  that  whoever  be- 
lieves repents ;  and  whoever  repents  believes. 

The  primary  and  simple  meaning  of  the 
word  commonly  used  in  the  New  Testament 
to  express  the  idea  of  repentance,  is  a  change 
of  mind,  as  the  result  of  reflection.  In  this 
sense,  it  is  said.  There  is  no  repentance  with 
God.  He  is  not  a  man  that  he  should  repent. 
In  the  same  sense  it  is  said,  that  Esau  found 
no  place  for  repentance,  when  he  was  unable 
to  effect  a  change  in  the  determination  of  his 
21* 


246  REPENTANCE. 

father.  In  the  ordinary  religious  sense  of  the 
term,  it  is  a  turning  from  sin  unto  God. 
This  is  the  account  commonly  given  of  it  in 
the  word  of  God.  I  thought  upon  my  ways, 
said  the  Psalmist,  and  turned  my  feet  unto 
thy  testimonies.*  When  the  wicked  man 
turneth  away  from  his  wickedness  that  he 
hath  committed,  and  doeth  that  which  is  law- 
ful and  right,  he  shall  save  his  soul  alive. f 
Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  un- 
righteous man  his  thoughts,  and  let  him  re- 
turn unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy 
upon  him,  and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abun- 
dantly pardon.  J  And  Solomon,  in  his  prayer 
at  the  dedication  of  the  temple,  said.  If  the 
people  shall  bethink  themselves  in  the  land 
whither  they  were  carried  captives,  and  re- 
pent and  make  supplication  unto  thee,  say- 
ing. We  have  sinned  and  done  perversely,  we 
have  committed  wickedness,  and  so  return 
unto  thee  with  all  their  heart  and  with  all  their 
soul;  then  hear  thou  their  prayer  and  their 
supplication  in  heaven  thy  dwelling  place, 
and  maintain  their  cause.  ^  To  repent,  then, 
is  to  turn  from  sin  unto  God.  But  as  there 
is  a  repentance  which  has  no  connexion  with 

*  Ps.  cxix.  59.^  t  Ezek.  xviii.  27. 

I  Is.  Iv.  7.  i  1  Kings  viii.  47—49. 


REPENTANCE.  247 

salvation,  it  becomes  us  to  search  the  Scrip- 
tures, that  we  may  learn  the  characteristics 
of  that  repentance  which  is  unto  life. 

As  conviction  of  sin  is  an  essential  part  of 
repentance,  and  as  that  point  has  already  been 
considered,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  dwell 
long  upon  this  general  subject.  The  promi- 
nence, however,  given  to  it  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  the  large  space  which  it  occupies  in  the 
experience  of  Christians,  demand  that  the 
nature  of  this  turning  from  sin,  which  is  so 
often  enjoined,  should  be  carefully  studied. 

There  is  one  general  truth  in  relation  to 
this  point  which  is  clearly  taught  in  the 
Bible;  and  that  is,  that  all  true  repentance 
springs  from  right  views  of  God.  The  lan- 
guage of  Job  may,  with  more  or  less  confi- 
dence, be  adopted  by  every  Christian :  I  have 
heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but 
now  mine  eye  seeth  thee ;  wherefore  I  abhor 
myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes.  "^ 

The  discovery  of  the  justice  of  God  serves 
to  awaken  conscience,  and  often  produces  a 
fearful  looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery  in- 
diornation.  This  is  the  natural  and  reasona- 
ble  eff'ect  of  a  clear  apprehension  of  the  recti- 
tude of  the  divine  character,  as  of  a  judge 

'  *  Job  xlii.  5,  6. 


248  REPENTANCE. 

who  renders  to  every  one  his  due.  There 
are  accordingly  many  illustrations  of  the 
effects  of  this  apprehension  recorded  in  the 
Scriptures.  Tearfulness  and  trembling,  said 
the  Psalmist,  are  come  upon  me ;  and  horror 
hath  overwhelmed  me.*  While  I  suffer  thy 
terrors  I  am  distracted.  Thy  fierce  wrath 
goeth  over  me.  Thy  terrors  have  cut  me 
off.f  There  is  no  rest  in  my  bones  because 
of  my  sin.  For  my  iniquities  are  gone 
over  my  head,  as  a  heavy  burden  they  are 
too  heavy  for  me.  J  These  fearful  forebod- 
ings are  so  common  in  the  experience  of  the 
people  of  God,  that  the  earlier  writers  make 
terror  of  conscience  a  prominent  part  of  re- 
pentance. There  are,  however,  two  remarks 
upon  this  subject,  which  should  be  borne  in 
mind.  The  first  is,  that  these  exercises  vary 
in  degree  from  the  intolerable  anguish  of  des- 
pair, to  the  calm  conviction  of  the  judgment 
that  we  are  justly  exposed  to  the  displeasure 
of  God.  And  secondly,  that  there  is  nothing 
discriminating  in  these  terrors  of  conscience. 
They  are  experienced  by  the  righteous  and 
the  unrighteous.  If  they  occurred  in  the  re- 
pentance of  David,  they  did  also  in  that  of 
Judas.     Sinners  in  Zion  are  often  afraid ;  and 

*  Ps.  Iv.  5.      t  Ps.  Ixxxviii.  15,  16.       I  Ps.  xxxviii.  3,  4. 


REPENTANCE.  249 

fearfulness  often  surprises  the  hypocrite. 
These  fearful  apprehensions,  therefore,  are 
not  to  be  desired  for  their  own  sake;  since 
there  is  nothing  good  in  fear.  It  is  reason- 
able that  those  should  fear  who  refuse  to  re- 
pent and  to  accept  of  the  offers  of  mercy. 
But  there  is  nothing  reasonable  in  those  fears 
which  arise  from  unbelief,  or  distrust  of  the 
promises  of  God.  It  so  often  happens,  how- 
ever, in  the  experience  of  the  people  of  God, 
that  they  are  made  sensible  of  their  guilt  and 
danger,  before  they  have  any  clear  apprehen- 
sions of  the  plan  of  redemption,  that,  in  fact, 
fear  of  the  wrath  of  God  enters  largely  into 
the  feelings  which  characterize  their  conver- 
sion. The  apprehension  of  the  holiness  of 
God  produces  awe.  The  angels  in  heaven 
are  represented  as  veiling  their  faces,  and 
bowing  with  reverence  before  the  Holy  One. 
Something  of  the  same  feeling  must  be  ex- 
cited in  the  minds  of  men  by  the  discovery  of 
His  infinite  purity.  It  cannot  fail,  no  matter 
what  may  be  the  state  of  his  mind,  to  excite 
awe.  This,  however,  may  be  mingled  with 
love,  and  express  itself  in  adoration;  or  it 
may  co-exist  with  hatred,  and  express  itself 
in  blasphemy.  Yery  often  the  effect  is  sim- 
ply awe;  (or  at  least  this  is  the  prominent 


250  REPENTANCE. 

emotion,)  and  the  soul  is  led  to  prostrate  it- 
self in  the  dust.  The  moral  character  of  this 
emotion  can  only  be  determined  by  observing 
whether  it  is  attended  with  complacency  in 
the  contemplation  of  infinite  purity,  and  with 
a  desire  of  larger  and  more  constant  discove- 
ries of  it ;  or  whether  it  produces  uneasiness 
and  a  desire  that  the  vision  may  be  with- 
drawn, and  we  be  allowed  to  remain  at  ease 
in  our  darkness. 

In  the  next  place,  this  discovery  of  the 
holiness  of  God  cannot  fail  to  produce  a  sense 
of  our  own  unworthiness.  It  is  in  his  light 
that  we  see  light.  It  is  by  the  apprehension 
of  his  excellence  that  we  learn  our  own  vile- 
ness.  And  as  no  man  can  be  aware  that  he 
appears  vile  in  the  sight  of  others,  without  a 
sense  of  shame,  we  find  that  this  emotion  is 
described  as  being  one  of  the  most  uniform 
attendants  upon  repentance.  Thus  Ezra,  in 
his  penitential  prayer,  says,  O  my  God!  I 
am  ashamed  and  blush  to  lift  up  my  face  to 
thee,  my  God ;  for  our  iniquities  are  increased 
over  our  head,  and  our  trespass  is  grown  up 
unto  the  heavens.*  Daniel  expresses  the 
same  feeling  when  he  says,  0  Lord,  righte- 
ousness belongeth  unto  thee,  but  unto  us  con- 

*  Ezra  ix.  6. 


REPENTANCE.  251 

fusion  of  faces,  as  at  this  day.*  And  God, 
when  describing  the  restoration  of  his  people, 
even  when  assuring  them  of  pardon,  says, 
Thou  shalt  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  that 
thou  may  est  remember,  and  be  confounded, 
and  never  open  thy  mouth  any  more  because 
of  thy  shame,  when  I  am  pacified  toward  thee, 
for  all  that  thou  hast  done,  saith  the  Lord  God. f 
As  the  consciousness  of  unworthiness, 
when  we  think  of  others,  produces  shame, 
so,  when  we  think  of  ourselves,  it  produces 
self-abhorrence.  This  latter  feeling,  there- 
fore, also  enters  into  the  nature  of  true  re- 
pentance. In  the  strong  language  of  the  suf- 
fering patriarch  already  quoted,  the  sinner 
abhors  himself  and  repents  in  dust  and  ashes. 
In  another  passage  the  same  distinguished 
servant  of  God  says.  Behold  I  am  vile ;  what 
shall  I  answer  thee?  I  will  lay  my  hand 
upon  my  mouth.  J  And  the  prophet  describ- 
ing the  repentance  of  the  people  says.  Ye 
shall  remember  your  ways  and  all  your 
doings,  wherein  ye  have  been  defiled;  and 
ye  shall  loathe  yourselves  in  your  own  sight, 
for  all  the  evil  that  ye  have  committed.  J  It 
is  not  the  strength,  but  the  nature  of  these 

*  Dan.  ix.  7.  t  Ezek.  xvi.  62,  63. 

I  Job  xl.  4.  5  Ezek.  xx.  43. 


252  REPENTANCE. 

feelings,  which  determines  the  character  of 
our  repentance.  Their  nature  is  the  same  in 
all  true  penitents;  their  strength  varies  in 
every  particular  case.  In  all,  however,  the 
sense  of  sin  destroys  that  self-complacency 
with  which  sinners  soothe  themselves,  thank- 
ing God  they  are  not  as  other  men.  It  hum- 
bles them  before  God,  and  places  them  in  the 
position  which  he  would  have  them  occupy. 
To  this  man  will  I  look,  saith  the  Lord,  even 
to  him  that  is  poor  and  of  a  contrite  spirit  and 
trembleth  at  my  word.*  With  such  a  soul 
God  condescends  to  take  up  his  abode.  For 
thus  saith  the  High  and  Lofty  One  who  in- 
habiteth  eternity,  whose  name  is  Holy;  I 
dwell  in  the  high  and  holy  place,  with  him 
also  who  is  of  a  contrite  and  humble  spirit, 
to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble,  and  to  re- 
vive the  heart  of  the  contrite  ones.f 

This  humbling  sense  of  our  unworthiness, 
which  produces  true  contrition  and  self-abase- 
ment, is  essential  to  repentance.  Most  men 
are  willing  to  acknowledge  themselves  to  be 
sinners ;  but  they  are  at  the  same  time  dis- 
posed to  extenuate  their  guilt;  to  think  they 
are  as  good  as  could  be  reasonably  expected ;  | 
that  the  law  of  God  demands  too  much  of 

*  Is.  Ixvi.  2.  t  Is.  Ivii.  15. 


REPENTANCE.  SJ5#' 

beings  so  frail  as  man,  and  that  it  would  be 
unjust  to  visit  their  deficiencies  with  any- 
severe  punishment.  The  change  which  con- 
stitutes repentance  destroys  this  disposition 
to  self-justification.  The  soul  bows  down  be- 
fore God  under  the  consciousness  of  inexcusa- 
ble guilt.  It  stands  self-condemned,  and,  in- 
stead of  regarding  God  as  a  hard  master,  it 
acknowledges  that  he  is  righteous  in  all  his 
demands,  and  in  all  his  judgments.  Such 
were  the  feelings  of  David,  when  he  said,  I 
acknowledge  my  transgressions,  and  my  sin 
is  ever  before  me.  Against  thee,  thee  only 
have  I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight, 
that  thou  mightest  be  justified  when  thou 
speakest,  and  be  clear  when  thou  judgest.^ 
The  same  feeling  is  expressed  by  Ezra,  O 
Lord  God  of  Israel,  thou  art  righteous  .... 
behold,  we  are  before  thee  in  our  trespasses, 
for  we  cannot  stand  before  thee  because  of 
this.f  And  Nehemiah  uses  language  to  the 
same  ejffect;  Thou  art  just  in  all  that  is 
brought  upon  us ;  for  thou  hast  done  right, 
but  we  have  done  wickedly.  J  There  can, 
therefore,  be  no  true  repentance  without  this 
contrite  spirit  of  self-condemnation  and  abase- 
ment. 

*  Ps.  li.  4.  t  Ezra  it,  15.  X  Neh.  ix.  33. 

22 


254  REPENTANCE. 

The  confession  of  sin,  on  which  the  Scrip- 
tures lay  so  much  stress,  is  the  outward  ex- 
pression of  this  inward  sense  of  ill-desert.  It 
is  not  enough  that  we  should  secretly  con- 
demn ourselves.  God  requires  a  full  and 
ingenuous  confession  of  our  sins.  And  this 
our  own  hearts  will  prompt  us  to  make.  As 
there  is  no  desire  in  the  penitent  to  extenuate 
his  guilt,  so  there  is  no  disposition  to  conceal 
it.  On  the  contrary,  the  soul  is  anxious  to 
acknowledge  every  thing ;  to  take  shame  to 
itself,  and  to  justify  God.  We  accordingly 
find  that  a  large  part  of  the  penitential  por- 
tions of  the  Scriptures  is  taken  up  in  record- 
ing the  confessions  of  the  people  of  God. 
When  I  kept  silence,  said  the  Psalmist,  my 
bones  waxed  old  through  my  roaring  all  the 
day  long.  For  day  and  night  thy  hand  was 
heavy  upon  me ;  my  moisture  is  turned 
into  the  drought  of  summer.  I  acknowledg- 
ed my  sin  unto  thee,  and  mine  iniquity  have 
I  not  hid.  I  said,  I  will  confess  my  transgres- 
sions unto  the  Lord ;  and  thou  forgavest  the 
iniquity  of  my  sin.*  So  long  as  he  attempt- 
ed to  conceal  his  guilt,  he  found  no  relief; 
the  hand  of  God  continued  to  press  heavily 
upon  him ;  but  when  he  acknowledged  his 

*  Ps.  xxxii.  3 — 5. 


REPENTANCE.  255 

transgressions  he  obtained  forgiveness.  The 
wise  man  therefore  says,  He  that  covereth 
his  sins  shall  not  prosper ;  but  whoso  confess- 
eth  and  forsake th  them,  shall  have  mercy.* 
The  New  Testament  is  equally  explicit  as  to 
this  part  of  our  duty.  If  we  say  that  we 
have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the 
truth  is  not  in  us.  If  we  confess  our  sins, 
he  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins, 
and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness.! 

This  confession  must  be  made  to  the  per- 
son against  whom  we  have  sinned.  If  we 
have  sinned  against  our  fellow  men,  we  must 
confess  to  them.  If  we  have  sinned  against 
the  church,  we  must  confess  to  the  church ; 
and  if  we  have  sinned  against  God,  our  con- 
fession must  be  made  to  God.  The  Old 
Testament,  in  commanding  restitution  in 
case  of  injury  done  to  our  neighbour,  thereby 
commanded  acknowledgment  to  be  made  to 
the  injured  party.  And  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment we  are  required  to  confess  our  faults 
one  to  another.  J  As,  however,  all  our  sins 
are  committed  against  God,  it  is  to  him  that 
our  confessions  are  to  be  principally  made ; 
for  even  in  those  cases  in  which  we  sin 
against  men,  we,  in  a  still  higher  sense,  sin 

*  Prov.  xxviii.  13.        f  1  John  i.  8,  9.       |  James  v.  16. 


66  REPENTANCE. 

against  God.  Our  sense  of  guilt  in  his  sight, 
therefore,  will  prevail  over  the  sense  of  our 
injustice  to  those  whom  we  have  offended. 
Thus  David,  though  he  had,  in  the  most 
grievous  manner,  sinned  against  his  neigh- 
bour, was  so  affected  with  the  enormity  of 
his  sin  as  committed  against  God,  that  he 
said.  Against  thee,  thee  only  have  I  sinned 
and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight.*  In  the  in- 
spired records  of  penitential  sorrow,  we  ac- 
cordingly find  that  confession  is  constantly 
made  to  God.  Let  thine  ear  now,  said  Ne- 
hemiah,  be  attentive  and  thine  eyes  open, 
that  thou  mayest  hear  the  prayer  of  thy  ser- 
vant which  I  pray  before  thee,  now  day  and 
night,  for  the  children  of  Israel  thy  servants, 
and  confess  the  sins  of  the  children  of  Israel 
which  we  have  sinned  against  thee ;  both  I 
and  my  father's  house  have  sinned,  and  have 
dealt  very  corruptly  against  thee,  have  not 
kept  the  commandments  or  the  statutes,  nor 
the  judgments  which  thou  commandest  thy 
servant  Moses.  Indeed  the  greater  portion 
of  the  remarkable  prayers  of  Daniel,  Ezra, 
and  Nehemiah,  which  form  the  most  authen- 
tic record  of  the  exercises  of  genuine  repent- 
ance, is  taken  up  with  confessions  of  sin; 

*  Ps.  li.  4. 


REPENTANCE.  '  257 

which  shows  how  essential  such  confession 
is  to  the  proper  discharge  of  this  duty.  No 
man,  therefore,  whose  heart  does  not  lead 
him  freely,  fully  and  humbly  to  acknowledge 
his  sin  before  God,  can  have  any  satisfactory 
evidence  that  he  truly  repents. 

There  is  indeed  a  confession  which  re- 
morse extorts  from  the  lips  of  those  whose 
hearts  know  nothing  of  that  godly  sorrow 
which  is  unto  life.  Thus  Judas  went  to  his 
accomplices  in  treachery  and  said,  I  have 
sinned  ia  that  I  have  betrayed  the  innocent 
blood ;  and  then  went  and  hanged  himself. 
This,  however,  is  very  different  from  that  in- 
genuous acknowledgment  of  sin  which  flows 
from  a  broken  spirit,  and  which  is  the  more 
full  and  free,  the  stronger  the  assurance  of 
forgiveness. 

Though  the  Scriptures  plainly  teach  that 
in  all  true  repentance  there  is  a  sense  of  sin, 
self-loathing,  self-condemnation,  sorrow  and 
confession,  yet  such  ^  the  poverty  of  human 
language,  that  these  very  terms  may  be,  nay, 
must  be,  employed  to  express  the  exercises 
of  those  who  do  not  truly  repent.  It  is  said 
of  Judas  that  he  repented ;  and  we  cannot 
doubt  that  his  repentance  included  a  convic- 
tion of  guilt,  sorrow,  self-abhorrence  and  con- 
22* 


258  REPENTANCE. 

fession.  Yet  all  this  was  nothing  more 
than  the  operation  of  that  impenitent  remorse 
which  often  drives  men  to  despair,  and  which 
serves  to  feed  the  fire  that  never  shall  be 
quenched.  Although  we  are  forced  to  de- 
scribe the  exercises  which  attend  the  sorrow 
of  the  world,  and  those  which  accompany 
the  sorrow  which  is  of  God,  by  the  same 
terms,  they  are  nevertheless  essentially  differ- 
ent in  their  nature.  There  is  a  gleam  of 
hope  and  a  glow  of  love  pervading  the  exer- 
cises of  the  true  penitent,  which  impart  to 
all  his  exercises  a  peculiarity  of  character, 
and  cause  them  to  produce  effects  specifically 
different  from  those  which  flow  from  despair- 
ing remorse,  or  the  agitations  of  an  awaken- 
ed conscience.  His  views  of  the  justice  and 
holiness  of  God  produce,  not  only  a  convic- 
tion of  sin  and  sorrow  for  having  committed 
it ;  but  also  an  earnest  desire  to  be  delivered 
from  it  as  the  greatest  of  all  evils,  and  an 
anxious  longing  after  conformity  to  the  image 
of  God,  as  the  greatest  of  all  blessings.  The 
repentance  of  the  ungodly  consists  in  the 
operations  of  conscience  combined  with  fear ; 
the  repentance  of  the  godly,  of  the  operations 
of  conscience  combined  with  love.  The  one 
is  the  sorrow  of  the  malefactor ;  the  other  the 


REPENTANCE-  259 

sorrow  of  a  child.  The  one  tends  to  despair 
and  opposition  to  God ;  the  other  to  hope  and 
a  desire  after  his  favour.  Both  may  lead  to 
obedience ;  but  the  obedience  in  the  one  case 
is  slavish;  in  the  other,  filial.  In  the  one 
case  it  is  mere  penance ;  in  the  other  it  is  re- 
pentance. 

The  circumstance  which,  perhaps,  most 
perceptibly  distinguishes  true  repentance 
from  mere  conviction  and  remorse,  is,  that 
the  former  is  attended  with  an  apprehension 
of  the  mercy  of  God.  The  ungodly  may  see 
by  the  light  of  conscience  and  of  the  divine 
law,  that  their  sins  are  exceedingly  great. 
They  may  be  filled  with  terror  from  the  ap- 
prehension of  divine  justice,  and  even  hum- 
bled and  confounded  under  a  view  of  the 
infinite  holiness  of  God  and  of  their  own  vile- 
ness,  but  there  is  no  sense  of  forgiving  mercy, 
no  apprehension  of  the  divine  favour.  In- 
stead, therefore,  of  turning  towards  God,  they 
turn  from  him.  After  the  example  of  Adam, 
they  would  gladly  hide  themselves  from  his 
presence.  And  so  terrible,  at  times,  is  that 
presence,  that  they  madly  seek  a  refuge  from 
it  in  the  darkness  of  the  grave,  or  call  upon 
the  rocks  and  the  mountains  to  cover  them. 
This   is   the   sorrow  which  worketh  death. 


260  REPENTANCE. 

But  in  every  case  of  real  turning  unto  God, 
there  is  more  or  less  distinct  apprehension  of 
his  mercy.  This  may  be  so  feeble  as  only 
to  enable  the  soul  to  say,  Though  he  slay 
me,  yet  I  will  trust  in  him ;  or,  Who  know- 
eth  if  he  will  return  and  repent  and  leave  a 
blessing  behind  him  ?^  or,  to  adopt  the  lan- 
guage of  David,  If  I  shall  find  favour  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Lord,  he  will  bring  me  again. 
But  if  he  thus  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in 
him ;  behold  here  am  I,  let  him  do  to  me  as 
seemeth  good  unto  him.f  This,  however,  is 
sufficient  to  turn  fear  into  hope,  and  rebellion 
into  submission. 

It  may  be  that  the  hope  which  saves  the 
soul  from  sinking  into  despair,  and  which 
prevents  it  from  turning  from  God  in  aggra- 
vated opposition,  is  at  times,  nothing  more 
than  a  conviction  that  he  is  merciful,  without 
any  distinct  apprehension  of  the  way  in 
which  his  mercy  can  be  exercised,  or  any 
confident  persuasion  of  our  own  acceptance. 
Still  the  soul  believes  that  he  is  the  Lord, 
the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long- 
suffering  and  abundant  in  goodness  and 
truth,  f  It  has  courage  to  adopt  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Psalmist :  Thou  God  art  good 

*  Joel  ii.  14.         t  2  Sam.  xv.  25,  26.         J  Ex.  xxxiv.  6. 


REPENTANCE.  261 

and  ready  to  forgive ;  and  plenteous  in  mercy 
to  all  those  that  call  upon  thee.^  In  all  the 
records  of  penitence,  therefore,  contained  in 
the  Scriptures,  we  find  the  recognition  of  the 
divine  goodness  as  the  great  operative  princi- 
ple in  turning  the  soul  unto  God.  Thus 
Nehemiah  says,  Thou  art  a  God  ready  to 
pardon,  gracious  and  merciful,  slow  to  anger, 
and  of  great  kindness. f  And  the  prophet 
presents  this  consideration  as  the  great  mo- 
tive to  those  whom  he  calls  to  repentance; 
Rend  your  hearts  and  not  your  garments,  and 
turn  unto  the  Lord  your  God;  for  he  is  gra- 
cious and  repenteth  him  of  evil.  J 

But  inasmuch  as  there  can  be  no  confi- 
dence of  forgiving  mercy,  which  is  not  found- 
ed on  the  revelation  of  the  purpose  of  God ; 
and  as  there  is  no  revelation  of  a  purpose  to 
pardon  except  through  the  mediation  of  Jesus 
Christ,  so  howxver  indistinct  may  be,  at 
times,  the  view  which  the  soul  takes  of  the 
plan  of  salvation,  there  must  still  be  a  refer- 
ence to  the  Saviour  in  all  authorized  expec- 
tatians  of  mercy.  The  penitent  may  not 
know  how  God  can  be  just  and  yet  the  justi- 
fier  of  sinners,  and  yet  be  persuaded  not  only 
that  he  is  merciful,  but  that  he  has  found  a 

♦  Ps.  IxxxvL  5.  t  Neh.  ix.  17.  t  Joel  iL  13. 


262  REPENTANCE. 

ransom,  and  can  consistently  save  us  from 
going  down  into  the  pit.  Doubtless,  how- 
ever, under  the  light  of  the  gospel,  it  is  far 
more  common  that  the  soul  sees  all  that  it 
discovers  of  the  mercy  of  God  and  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  pardon  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ. 
It  is  in  him  that  God  has  revealed  himself  as 
reconciled  unto  the  world,  not  imputing  unto 
men  their  trespasses.  It  is  because  he  w^as 
made  sin  for  us,  that  we  can  be  made  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  him.  All  evangeli- 
cal hope  rests  on  the  assurance  that  though 
we  have  sinned  we  have  an  advocate  with  the 
Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous,  who  is 
the  propitiation  for  our  sins.  This  is  the 
hope  which  is  effectual  in  winning  the  soul 
back  to  God.  It  is  the  discovery  of  the  love 
of  God  in  giving  his  own  Son,  that  whoso- 
ever believes  on  him,  should  not  perish  but 
have  eternal  life.  It  is  this  that  breaks  the 
hard  heart,  revealing  to  it  the  exceeding  tur- 
pitude of  its  sins,  and  at  the  same  time  dis- 
closing the  readiness  of  God  freely  to  forgive 
those  who  come  to  him  through  Christ.  It 
is  therefore  not  so  much  the  threatenings  of 
the  law,  as  the  apprehension  of  the  love  of 
God,  which  turns  the  sinner  from  his  rebel- 
lion, and  draws  him  back  to  submission  and 


REPENTANCE.  263 

obedience.  All  repentance  without  this  is 
legal  and  slavish.  It  is  such  as  that  of  Pha- 
raoh, or  Judas,  or  of  the  thousands  whom  an 
awakened  conscience  and  fear  of  wrath  drive 
from  their  former  sins,  and  force  to  walk  in 
clanking  chains  along  a  mistaken  road  in 
search  of  heaven.  This  is  the  only  repent- 
ance which  conscience  and  the  apprehension 
of  divine  justice  can  produce.  A  soul  cannot 
approach  an  unreconciled  God,  any  more 
than  it  can  embrace  a  consuming  fire.  A 
sense  of  the  favour  of  God,  or  a  hope  in  his 
mercy,  is  essential  to  our  returning  to  him 
with  confidence  and  love. 

There  is  indeed  a  belief  in  the  mercy  of 
God  which,  instead  of  leading  men  to  repent- 
ance, encourages  them  to  continue  in  sin. 
This  is  a  belief  which  arises  out  of  ignorance. 
It  is  founded  on  a  misapprehension  of  the 
character  of  God.  It  is  easy  for  those  who 
know  nothing  of  the  divine  holiness  and  jus- 
tice and  who  look  upon  sin  as  a  misfortune 
or  a  trifle,  to  believe  that  God  will  not  be 
severe  to  mark  iniquity.  To  such  persons 
the  mercy  of  God  seems  a  matter  of  course ; 
restricting  its  offers  to  no  class  of  men,  but 
covering  with  its  mantle  the  sins  of  the  peni- 
tent and  of  the  reprobate.     As  they  see  no 


264  REPENTANCE. 

reason  why  God  should  not  forgive,  they 
easily  hope  in  his  mercy.  But  when  their 
eyes  are  opened  to  his  immaculate  purity 
which  forbids  his  looking  on  sin  with  allow- 
ance; to  his  justice  which  forbids  him  to 
spare  the  guilty ;  to  the  strictness  of  his  law 
and  to  the  fearfulness  of  its  penalty ;  when 
conscience  is  aroused  and  adds  its  sanction  to 
the  judgment  of  God,  in  a  voice  whose  autho- 
rity and  power  can  neither  be  questioned  nor 
evaded,  then  these  hopes  of  mercy  are  seen 
to  be  as  the  spider's  web.  They  are  swept 
away  in  a  moment,  and  the  difficulty  now  is, 
to  believe  that  pardon,  once  thought  so  cer- 
tain, is  even  possible.  Hence  the  assurances 
that  God  ia  plenteous  in  mercy  and  ready  to 
forgive  are  so  numerous  and  earnest  in  the 
Scriptures.  Hence  the  way  in  which  mercy 
can  be  exercised,  consistently  with  those  at- 
tributes which  are  seen  to  enter  into  the  es- 
sential excellence  of  God,  is  so  clearly  set 
forth.  Hence  the  invitations,  the  promises, 
yea,  even  the  oath  of  God,  are  given  to  beget 
hope  in  the  mind  of  the  convinced  and  hum- 
bled sinner.  It  is  not  the  whole,  but  the 
sick,  who  need  the  physician ;  and  it  is  not 
for  the  careless,  who  feel  no  need  of  pardon, 
but  for  the  anxious,  who  fear  that  there  is 


REPENTANCE.  265 

scarcely  room  for  mercy,  that  these  assuran- 
ces are  given. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  that  hope  of  mercy 
which  springs  from  ignorance  and  indiffe- 
rence, which  is  operative  in  the  work  of  re- 
pentance, but  that  which  is  founded  upon  the 
promises  of  God  embraced  by  faith.  It  is  an 
enlightened  hope.  The  soul  in  entertaining 
it,  knows  something  of  the  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  pardon,  and  something  of  the  method 
in  which  mercy  can  be  consistently  exer- 
cised. Such  a  hope  is  not  a  matter  of  course ; 
nor  is  it  an  easy  attainment.  The  sense  of 
sin,  the  testimony  of  conscience,  the  holiness 
of  God,  the  honour  of  his  law,  are  all  appa- 
rently opposed  to  any  reasonable  expectation 
of  forgiveness.  And,  therefore,  although  the 
declarations  of  Scripture  are  so  explicit  on 
the  subject,  it  often  happens  that  the  awaken- 
ed sinner  feels,  that  though  these  declarations 
may  be  true  in  reference  to  others,  they  can- 
not be  true  as  it  regards  himself  And  when 
the  goodness  of  God  is  revealed  to  him ;  when 
he  sees  the  divine  love  surmounting  all  diffi- 
culties, no  shipwrecked  mariner  surrounded 
by  darkness  and  tossed  by  tempests,  hails 
with  greater  joy  the  break  of  day  than  does 
such  a  soul,  the  revelation  of  divine  mercy. 
23 


266  REPENTANCE. 

It  is  not  joy  merely ;  it  is  wonder,  gratitude 
and  love  that  take  possession  of  his  soul  and 
fill  him  with  the  purpose  of  living  devoted  to 
God  his  Redeemer.  It  is  this  hope  which 
gives  new  life  to  the  soul,  and  accomplishes 
its  return  from  the  service  of  sin  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God. 

Hope  in  the  mercy  of  God  being  thus  im- 
portant, it  is  the  great  design  of  the  Bible  to 
reveal  the  love  of  God  to  sinners,  in  order  to 
bring  them  back  from  their  apostacy.  The 
sacred  volume  is  full  of  instruction  on  this 
important  subject.  Every  command  to  re- 
pent, implies  a  readiness  on  the  part  of  God 
to  forgive.  Every  institution  of  divine  wor- 
ship implies  that  God  is  willing  to  receive 
those  who  return  to  him.  Every  instance  of 
pardon  mentioned  in  the  Bible  is  left  on  re- 
cord to  show  that  there  is  forgiveness  with 
God  that  he  may  be  feared.  With  the  same 
view  he  has  given  those  declarations  of  his 
mercy,  long-suffering  and  love,  with  which 
the  Scriptures  abound.  And  above  all,  for 
this  purpose  has  he  set  forth  his  Son  as  a 
propitiation  for  our  sins,  that  we  may  see  not 
only  that  he  is  merciful,  but  how  he  can  be 
merciful  and  yet  just.  These  offers  of  mercy 
are  made  to  all  who  hear  the  gospel,  even  to 


REPENTANCE.  267 

those  whose  sins  are  as  scarlet,  or  red  like 
crimson ;  and  none  lose  the  benefit  of  them 
who  do  not  voluntarily  and  wickedly  reject 
them ;  either  carelessly  supposing  that  they 
need  no  forgiveness,  or  unbelievingly  refusing 
to  accept  of  pardon  on  the  only  terms  on 
which  it  can  be  granted. 

That  repentance,  therefore,  which  is  unto 
life,  is  a  turning ;  not  a  being  driven  away 
from  sin  by  fear  and  stress  of  conscience,  but 
a  forsaking  it  as  evil  and  hateful,  with  sin- 
cere sorrow,  humility  and  confession ;  and  a 
returning  unto  God,  because  he  is  good  and 
willing  to  forgive,  with  a  determination  to 
live  in  obedience  to  his  commandments. 

There  are  but  two  ways  in  which  we  can 
judge  of  the  genuineness  of  this  change. 
The  one  is  the  comparison  of  our  inward  ex- 
perience with  the  word  of  God ;  the  other  the 
observation  of  its  effects.  As  every  man  is 
conscious  of  his  own  feelings,  attention  and 
comparison  will  generally  enable  him  to  as- 
certain their  character.  He  may  tell  whe- 
ther he  has  had  such  views  of  the  justice  and 
holiness  of  God  as  to  produce  a  conviction  of 
his  own  sinfulness  and  ill-desert ;  whether  he 
has  been  forced  to  give  up  his  self-compla- 
cency and  to  feel  that  disapprobation  of  his 


268  REPENTA1VCE. 

character  and  conduct,  which  leads  the  soul 
to  confess  with  shame  and  sorrow  its  guilt 
and  pollution  in  the  sight  of  God.  He  may 
tell  whether  he  has  had  such  apprehensions 
of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ  as  to  in- 
duce him  to  return  to  his  heavenly  Father, 
with  a  strong  desire  after  his  favour,  and  with 
a  firm  determination  to  live  to  his  glory. 
These  are  the  exercises  which  constitute  re- 
pentance, and  he  who  is  conscious  of  them 
may  know  that  he  is  turned  from  death  unto 
life. 

As,  however,  true  self-knowledge  is  the 
most  difficult  of  all  attainments ;  and  as  the 
feelings,  unless  unusually  strong,  are  hard  to 
be  detected  in  their  true  nature,  the  surest 
test  of  the  character  of  any  supposed  change 
of  heart  is  to  be  found  in  its  permanent 
effects.  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them, 
is  a  declaration  as  applicable  to  the  right 
method  of  judging  of  ourselves  as  of  others. 
Whatever,  therefore,  may  have  been  our  in- 
ward experience ;  whatever  joy  or  sorrow  we 
may  have  felt,  unless  we  bring  forth  fruits 
meet  for  repentance,  our  experience  will  pro- 
fit us  nothing.  Our  repentance  needs  to  be 
repented  of,  unless  it  leads  us  to  confession 
and  restitution  in  cases  of  private  injury ;  un- 


REPENTANCE.  269 

less  it  causes  ns  to  forsake  not  merely  out- 
ward sins,  which  attract  the  notice  of  others, 
but  those  which  lie  concealed  in  the  heart; 
unless  it  makes  us  choose  the  service  of  God, 
as  that  which  is  right  and  congenial,  and 
causes  us  to  live  not  for  ourselves,  but  for 
him  who  loved  us  and  gave  himself  for  us. 

There  is  no  duty  the  necessity  of  which  is 
either  more  obvious  in  itself,  or  more  fre- 
quently asserted  in  the  word  of  God,  than 
that  of  repentance.  Nature  itself  teaches  us 
that  when  we  have  done  wrong,  we  should 
be  sorry  for  it,  and  turn  away  from  the  evil. 
Every  man  feels  that  this  is  a  reasonable  ex- 
pectation in  regard  to  those  who  have  offend- 
ed him.  ETOry  parent  especially  looks  with 
anxiety  for  the  repentance  of  a  disobedient 
child ;  and  he  considers  nothing  worthy  of 
the  name,  but  sincere  sorrow  and  a  return  to 
affectionate  obedience.  No  man  need  won- 
der, therefore,  that  God  who  requires  nothing 
but  what  is  right  and  who  can  require  no- 
thing less,  commands  all  men  every  .where  to 
repent.  The  salvation  offered  in  the  gospel, 
though  it  be  a  salvation  of  sinners,  is  also  a 
salvation  from  sin.  The  heaven  which  it 
promises  is  a  heaven  of  holiness.  The  rivers 
of  pleasure  which  flow  from  the  right  hand 
23* 


270  REPENTANCE. 

of  God,  are  filled  with  the  pure  waters  of  life. 
No  man,  therefore,  can  be  saved,  who  does 
not,  by  repentance,  forsake  his  sins.  This  is 
itself  a  great  part  of  salvation.  The  inward 
change  of  heart  from  the  love  and  service  of 
sin,  to  the  love  and  service  of  God,  is  the 
great  end  of  the  death  of  Christ,  who  gave 
himself  for  his  church,  that  he  might  sancti- 
fy and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water, 
by  the  word,  that  he  might  present  it  to  him- 
self a  glorious  church,  not  having  spot,  or 
wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing ;  but  that  it  should 
be  holy  and  without  blemish.  A  salvation 
for  sinners,  therefore,  without  repentance,  is 
a  contradiction. 

Hence  it  is  that  repentance  is  the  burden 
of  evangelical  preaching.  Our  Saviour  him- 
self, when  he  began  to  preach,  said.  Repent, 
for  the  kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand.*  And 
when  he  came  into  Galilee  preaching  the 
gospel,  he  said,  The  time  is  fulfilled,  and  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  at  hand,  repent  ye  and 
believe  the  gospel,  f  The  commission  which 
he  gave  his  apostles  was,  That  repentance 
and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in 
his  name  among  all  nations.  J  In  the  execu- 
tion of  this  commission,  his  disciples  went 

*  Matt.  iv.  17.  t  Mark  i.  15.  J  Luke  xxiv.  47. 


REPENTANCE.  271 

forth  and  preached,  Repent  ye  and  be  con- 
verted, that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out,  when 
the  times  of  refreshing  shall  come  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord.*  Paul,  in  the  account 
which  he  gave  Agrippa  of  his  preaching,  said 
that  he  showed  first  unto  them  in  Damascus, 
and  at  Jerusalem,  and  throughout  all  the 
coasts  of  Judea,  and  then  unto  the  Gentiles, 
that  they  should  repent  and  turn  unto  God, 
and  do  works  meet  for  repentance. f  And  he 
called  upon  the  elders  at  Ephesus  to  bear 
witness  that  he  had  taught  publicly  and  from 
house  to  house,  testifying  both  to  the  Jews 
and  to  the  Greeks,  repentance  towards  God 
and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.J 

Repentance  then  is  the  great,  immediate 
and  pressing  duty  of  all  who  hear  the  gospel. 
They  are  called  upon  to  forsake  their  sins 
and  to  return  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 
The  neglect  of  this  duty,  is  the  rejection  of 
salvation.  For,  as  we  have  seen,  unless  we 
repent  we  must  perish.  It  is  because  repent- 
ance is  thus  indispensably  necessary,  that 
God  reveals  so  clearly  not  only  the  evil  of  sin, 
and  the  terrors  of  his  law,  but  his  infinite 
compassion  and  love ;  that  he  calls  upon  us  to 
turn  unto  him  and  live,  assuring  us  that  he  is 

*  Acts  iii.  19.  t  Acts  xxvi.  20.  |  Acts  xx.  21. 


272  REPENTANCE. 

the  Lord,  the  Lord  God  merciful  and  gra- 
cious, long-suffering,  and  abundant  in  good- 
ness and  truth.  This  call  to  repentance  com- 
monly follows  men  from  the  cradle  to  the 
grave.  It  is  one  of  the  first  sounds  which 
wakes  the  infant's  ear ;  it  is  one  of  the  last 
which  falls  on  the  failing  senses  of  the  dying 
sinner.  Every  thing  in  this  world  is  vocal 
with  the  voice  of  mercy.  All  joy  and  all 
sorrow  are  calls  to  return  unto  God  with 
whom  are  the  issues  of  life.  Every  opening 
grave,  every  church,  every  page  of  the  Bible, 
is  an  admonition  or  an  invitation.  Every 
serious  thought  or  anxious  foreboding  is  the 
voice  of  God,  saying.  Turn  ye,  for  why  will 
ye  die  ?  It  is  through  all  these  admonitions 
that  men  force  their  way  to  death.  They 
perish,  because  they  deliberately  reject  salva- 
tion. 

It  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  redemption, 
that  under  the  economy  of  mercy,  all  duties 
are  graces.  Though  repentance  is  our  duty, 
it  is  not  less  the  gift  of  God.  Those  w^ho 
wrest  the  Scriptures  to  their  own  destruction, 
gladly  seize  on  such  truths  either  as  an  ex- 
cuse for  delay,  under  pretence  of  waiting 
God's  time,  or  as  a  palliation  of  the  guilt  of  a 
hard  and  impenitent  heart.     But  those  who 


REPENTANCE.  273 

feel  the  greatness  of  the  work  required  of 
them,  rejoice  in  the  truth,  and  rouse  them- 
selves with  new  energy  to  their  duty,  no 
longer  a  hopeless  task,  and  with  all  earnest- 
ness work  out  their  own  salvation,  because  it 
is  God  that  worketh  in  them  to  will  and  to 
do,  according  to  his  own  pleasure. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

Section  I.  The  nature  and  necessity  of  a 
public  prof  ession  of  religion. 

Religion  consists  in  a  great  measure  in 
the  secret  intercourse  of  the  soul  with  God ; 
in  those  acts  of  adoration,  gratitude,  confi- 
dence and  submission  which  the  eye  of  man 
cannot  see,  and  with  which  the  stranger  can- 
not intermeddle.  These  secret  exercises  by 
controlling  the  external  conduct,  and  by  sup- 
plying the  motives  for  the  humble  demeanour 
and  benevolent  actions  of  the  Christian,  can- 
not indeed  fail  to  manifest  their  existence; 
but  all  unnecessary  parading  them  upon  the 
notice  of  others  borders  on  the  offence  which 
our  Saviour  condemned  in  the  ancient  Phari- 
sees. Agreeably  to  his  directions,  our  alms 
are  to  be  given  in  secret ;  when  we  pray  we 
should  pray  in  secret,  and  when  we  fast,  we 
should  not  appear  unto  men  to  fast,  but  unto 
our  Father,  who  seeth  in  secret.     In  these 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  275 

words  Christ  does  more  than  condemn  hy- 
pocrisy ;  he  not  only  forbids  the  performance 
of  religious  duties  with  the  design  of  being 
seen  of  men,  but  he  teaches  that  true  religion 
is  unobtrusive  and  retiring.  It  avoids  the 
glare  of  day.  It  is  holy,  solemn,  secret,  re- 
joicing in  being  unobserved.  It  is  directly 
opposed  to  the  ostentatious  display  of  reli- 
gious feelings  in  which  those  delight,  who 
seem  to  make  religion  consist  in  talking 
about  it. 

Although  religion  is  thus  retiring  in  its 
character,  and  although  it  consists  in  a  great 
measure  in  the  secret  intercourse  of  the  soul 
with  God,  it  nevertheless  has  its  social  and 
public  relations,  which  render  it  impossible 
that  a  true  Christian  should  desire  to  keep 
the  fact  of -his  being  a  Christian  a  secret  from 
the  world.  This  is  indeed  often  attempted, 
for  a  time,  by  those  whose  faith  is  weak,  and 
who  dread  the  reproach  with  which  a  pro- 
fession of  religion  is,  under  many  circum- 
stances, attended.  The  temptation  to  such 
concealment  cannot  well  be  appreciated  by 
those  who  have  always  lived  in  the  bosom  of 
a  religious  society,  where  the  profession  of 
religious  sentiments  is  a  passport  to  confi- 
dence and  respect.    Such  persons  little  know 


276  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

the  trial  to  which  those  of  their  brethren  are 
exposed  whose  parents  or  associates  view  all 
experimental  religion  with  hatred  or  con- 
tempt, and  who  visit  every  manifestation  of 
pious  feeling  with  the  chastisement  of  cruel 
mockings.  To  a  greater  or  less  degree,  a 
large  portion  of  the  people  of  God,  are  called 
upon  to  endure  this  trial ;  and  they  are  often 
tempted  to  ask  whether  they  cannot  be  reli- 
gious without  letting  it  be  known.  If  reli- 
gion is  a  secret  thing,  why  may  it  not  be 
kept  a  secret  ?  To  this  question  the  answer 
is  simple  and  decisive.  The  confession  of 
Christ  before  men  is  declared  in  Scripture  to 
be  essential  to  salvation.  Whosoever,  said 
our  Saviour,  confesseth  me  before  men,  him 
will  I  confess  before  my  father  which  is  in 
heaven ;  but  whosoever  denieth  me  before 
men,  him  will  I  also  deny  before  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven.*  Again,  whosoever 
shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and  of  my  words  in 
this  adulterous  generation ;  of  him  also  shall 
the  Son  of  Man  be  ashamed,  when  he  com- 
eth  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  and  with  the 
holy  angels.f  Paul  also  in  writing  to  Timo- 
thy says.  Be  not  ashamed  of  the  testimony  of 
our  Lord,  nor  of  me  his  prisoner,  but  be  thou 

*  Matt.  X.  32,  33.  t  Mark  viii.  38. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  277 

partaker  of  the  afflictions  of  the  gospel  ac- 
cording to  the  power  of  God.*  If  we  suffer, 
we  shall  also  reign  with  him ;  if  we  deny 
him,  he  also  will  deny  us.f  And  still  more 
explicitly,  when  teaching  the  condition  of 
salvation,  he  says,  If  thou  shalt  confess  with 
thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shall  believe 
in  thy  heart  that  God  hath  raised  him  from 
the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved.  For  with  the 
heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness,  and 
with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  sal- 
vation. J  The  same  truth  is  taught  in  all 
those  passages  which  assert  the  necessity  of 
baptism,  because  baptism  involves  a  public 
profession  of  the  gospel.  Thus  our  Saviour 
in  his  commission  to  the  apostles  said.  He 
that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved.  § 
And  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  the 
people  were  convinced  of  the  sin  of  having 
rejected  Christ,  and  asked  what  they  should 
do,  Peter  answered.  Repent  and  be  baptized 
every  one  of  you,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  II  It  was  not  enough  that  they  should 
retire  to  their  houses  and  repent  before  God ; 
they  must  publicly  acknowledge  Christ  and 
their  allegiance  to  him.     There  is,  therefore, 

*  2  Tim.  i.  8.      t  2  Tim.  ii.  12.      X  Rom.  x.  9,  10. 
}  Mark  xvi.  16.  ||  Acts  ii.  38. 

24 


278  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

no  condition  of  discipleship  more  clearly  laid 
down  than  this.  If  we  do  not  confess  Christ, 
he  will  not  confess  ns.  If  we  do  not  acknow- 
ledge him  as  our  Saviour,  he  will  not  ac- 
knowledge us  as  his  disciples.  If  we  are  not 
willing  to  share  with  him  in  the  reproach 
and  contradiction  of  sinners,  we  cannot  share 
in  the  glory  which  he  has  received  from  the 
Father. 

The  relation  in  which  we  stand  to  Christ 
as  our  king  renders  a  public  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  authority  necessary.  In  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world,  no  one  is  admitted  to 
the  privileges  of  citizenship  without  a  profes- 
sion of  allegiance.  And  in  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  those  who  do  not  acknowledge  his 
authority,  reject  him.  By  refusing  to  con- 
fess him  as  Lord  they  declare  that  they  are 
not  his  people. 

The  church  is  also  often  compared  in 
Scripture  to  a  family.  Can  a  child  live  in 
his  father's  house  without  acknowledging  his 
parent?  May  he  receive  the  blessings  of  a 
mother's  love,  and  not  acknowledge  her  to  be 
his  mother  ?  May  he  pass  her  in  the  street 
without  recognition,  and  then  steal  away, 
under  cover  of  the  night,  to  be  fed  at  her 
table  and  to  be  protected  by  her  care  ?     As 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  279 

every  one  feels  that  no  child,  with  proper 
filial  feelings,  could  hesitate  to  acknowledge 
his  parents,  so  we  may  be  assured  that  we 
are  not  the  children  of  God,  if  we  are  afraid 
or  ashamed  to  acknowledge  him  as  our  Fa- 
ther, and  our  obligations  to  honour  and  obey 
him. 

It  is  still  further  to  be  considered  that 
Christians  are  the  worshippers  of  Christ. 
The  apostle  salutes  the  Corinthians  as  those 
who  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus ; 
and  from  the  beginning,  in  Jerusalem  and  at 
Damascus,  Christians  were  designated  as 
those  who  called  on  the  name  of  Christ.* 
But  what  kind  of  a  worshipper  is  he  who  is 
ashamed  or  afraid  to  acknowledge  his  God  ? 
AH  the  relations,  therefore,  in  which  a  Chris- 
tian stands  to  Christ,  as  his  king,  as  the  head 
of  the  family  of  God  and  as  the  object  of 
divine  worship,  involve  the  necessity  of  con- 
fessing him  before  men ;  and  we  practically 
reject  him  in  all  these  relations  by  neglecting 
or  refusing  this  public  profession  of  him  and 
his  religion. 

A  moment's  consideration  of  the  nature  of 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  must  convince  us 
of  the  impossibility  of  being  a  secret  Chris- 
*  Actsix.  14,  21. 


280  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

tian.  Not  the  heart  only,  but  the  whole  ex- 
ternal deportment  must  be  regulated  by  that 
religion.  It  forbids  many  things  which  the 
world  allows ;  it  enjoins  many  things  which 
the  world  forbids.  Obedience  to  its  precepts 
of  necessity  includes  a  public  profession ;  be- 
cause such  obedience  draws  a  line  of  distinc- 
tion between  its  disciples  and  the  people  of 
the  world.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why 
the  people  of  God  are  called  saints.  They 
are  distinguished,  separated  from  others  and 
consecrated  to  God.  When  they  cease  to  be 
thus  distinguished  from  those  around  them, 
they  cease  to  be  saints.  If  their  inward  tem- 
per and  outward  conduct  do  not  mark  them 
out  as  a  peculiar  people,  they  are  not  Chris- 
tians. A  city  set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid. 
It  cannot  be  that  those  who  deny  themselves 
and  take  up  their  cross  and  daily  follow 
Christ;  whose  affections  are  set  upon  things 
above;  who  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight; 
who  live  unto  God  and  keep  themselves  un- 
spotted from  the  world,  should  not  visibly 
differ  from  those  whose  spirit,  principles  and 
objects  are  all  worldly.  Nor  is  it  possible 
that  this  difference  should  exist,  without  an 
avowal,  on  the  part  of  the  Christian,  of  the 
cause  of  it.     He  must  appeal  to  the  authority 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  281 

of  Christ  as  the  justification  of  his  conduct, 
and,  therefore,  cannot  live  as  a  Christian 
without  confessing  Christ. 

Besides  the  general  temper  and  deportment 
required  by  the  gospel,  there  are  many  spe- 
cific duties  enjoined  by  Christ  which  imply 
a  public  profession  of  his  religion.  The  or- 
ganization of  his  church  as  a  visible  society, 
supposes  the  separation  of  a  people  recognis- 
ing his  authority,  and  professing  to  act  in 
obedience  to  his  laws.  The  commission 
which  he  gave  to  his  disciples  was,  that  they 
should  go  into  all  the  world,  preaching  his 
gospel,  making  disciples,  baptizing  them  in 
his  name,  gathering  them  into  distinct  socie- 
ties and  appointing  officers  over  them  for 
conducting  public  worship  and  for  the  exer- 
cise of  discipline.  All  this  supposes  that  his 
followers  should  constitute  a  body  publicly 
acknowledging  him  as  their  head,  and  con- 
fessing him  as  their  Lord  and  Saviour  before 
the  world.  How  can  a  man  keep  the  fact  of 
his  being  a  Christian  a  secret,  when  Chris- 
tianity is,  by  its  author,  made  to  assume  this 
visible,  organized  form  ?  It  is  specially  en- 
joined upon  every  believer  to  associate  him- 
self with  the  church,  to  assemble  with  his 
fellow  Christians  for  public  worship,  and  to 
24* 


282  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

unite  with  them  in  celebrating  the  Saviour's 
death  ?  If  a  Christian  is  one  who  obeys 
Christ,  and  if  obedience  includes  those  exter- 
nal acts  which  involve  this  public  acknow- 
ledgment of  him,  then  no  man  can  be  a 
Christian  who  does  not  make  this  acknow- 
ledgment. 

There  are  few  duties  (and  those  founded 
on  positive  precepts)  commanded  in  the  word 
of  God,  which  right  feelings  do  not,  of  them- 
selves, urge  us  to  discharge.  If  we  are  re- 
quired to  forsake  sin,  to  serve  God,  to  love 
the  brethren,  to  live  for  others  rather  than 
ourselves,  to  be  instant  in  prayer,  to  join  in 
the  public  and  social  worship  of  God ;  these 
are  things  in  which  the  renewed  heart  in- 
stinctively delights.  The  external  command 
guides  and  sanctions  the  performance;  but 
the  motive  to  obedience  is  not  mere  regard  to 
authority.  In  like  manner,  while  the  public 
confession  of  Christ  is  enjoined  in  Scripture 
as  a  necessary  duty,  it  is,  at  the  same  time, 
the  spontaneous  tribute  of  every  Christian 
heart.  If  no  subject  requires  to  be  urged  to 
acknowledge  a  sovereign  whom  he  loves ;  if 
no  child  needs  to  be  commanded  to  confess  a 
parent  w^hom  he  reveres,  much  less  does  the 
believer  need  to  be  forced  to  confess  the  Sa- 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  283 

viour  whom  he  regards  as  the  brightness  of 
the  Father's  glory ;  to  whom  he  feels  indebt- 
ed for  redemption,  and  whom  he  hopes  to 
worship  and  serve  with  saints  and  angels  in 
heaven.  It  is  not  meant  to  be  asserted  that 
no  believer  is  ever  ashamed  of  Jesus;  nor 
that  under  circumstances  of  peculiar  trial  he 
may  not  fear  to  acknowledge  his  truth  or  to 
assume  his  name.  Peter  once  denied  his 
master.  But  it  is  certainly  true  that  no  man 
can  have  right  views  of  Christ  and  right  feel- 
ings towards  him,  without  habitually,  openly 
and  gladly  acknowledging  him  as  his  God 
and  Saviour.  He  will  esteem  the  reproach 
of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of 
Egypt,  and  choose  rather  to  suffer  affliction 
with  the  people  of  God  than  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  the  nature 
of  the  duty  now  under  consideration.  To 
confess  Christ  is  to  recognise  his  character 
and  claims.  It  is  to  acknowledge  that  Jesus 
is  the  Christ.  It  is  to  admit  the  truth  of  the 
doctrines  which  he  taught.  It  is  to  profess  our 
allegiance  to  him  as  our  Lord  and  Saviour. 
This  confession  must  be  public ;  it  must  be 
made  before  men ;  it  must  be  made  with  the 


284  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

mouth,  and  not  left  to  be  inferred  from  the  con- 
duct. It  should  be  remembered  that  this  in- 
cludes more  than  the  mere  assumption  of  the 
name  Christian,  in  distinction  from  Pagan  or 
Mahommedan.  If  men  misconceive  or  misre- 
present the  character  of  Christ,  a  profession 
of  such  erroneous  views  is  not  the  confession 
which  he  requires.  To  acknowledge  Christ 
merely  as  a  good  man,  or  an  inspired  teacher, 
is  in  fact  to  deny  him  in  his  true  character  as 
the  Son  of  God,  as  the  propitiation  for  sin,  as 
the  only  mediator  and  the  sovereign  Lord  of 
the  living  and  the  dead.  And  to  acknow- 
ledge the  gospel  merely  as  a  code  of  morals, 
is  to  reject  it  as  the  revelation  of  the  grace  of 
God.  The  confession  which  is  required  is 
the  public  acknowledgment  of  Christ  in  his 
true  character,  and  of  his  gospel  in  its  real 
nature.  It  will  not  do  to  strip  the  gospel  of 
every  thing  oj9fensive  to  human  pride  and  to 
acknowledge  the  rest.  The  very  thing  to  be 
done  is  to  take  the  shame  of  professing  what 
is  a  scandal  to  the  Jews  and  foolishness  to  the 
Greeks.  It  is  to  acknowledge  our  faith  and 
coafidence  in  a  Saviour  despised  and  rejected 
of  men,  and  in  doctrines  which  human  reason 
can  neither  discover  nor  comprehend. 

There  are  several  ways  in  which  this  pub- 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  285 

lie  confession  is  to  be  made.  As  already  re- 
marked, there  is  a  confession  included  in  the 
obedience  rendered  to  the  commands  of 
Christ.  Obedience,  therefore,  is  one  form  of 
confession,  and  can  never  be  rendered  with- 
out distinguishing  those  who  yield  it  as  the 
followers  of  Christ.  Again,  occasions  fre- 
quently occur  in  which  Christians  are  called 
upon  to  avow  the  truth,  to  defend  it  against 
gainsayers,  to  urge  it  upon  those  over  whom 
they  have  influence  or  authority,  or  to  give  a 
reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  them,  with 
meekness  and  fear.  But  the  chief  and  most 
important  mode  of  confession  is  attendance 
upon  the  ordinances  of  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  So  much  prominence  is 
given  to  these  institutions,  in  the  word  of 
God,  that  every  Christian  should  have  clear 
ideas  of  their  nature  and  of  his  own  duty  in 
regard  to  them. 

Section  II.  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per. The  nature,  design  and  efficacy  of  these 
ordinances. 

That  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper, 
whatever  other  important  ends  they  may  be 
intended  to  serve,  were  appointed  as  a  mode 


286  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

of  publicly  professing  our  faith  in  the  gospel, 
is  clearly  taught  in  the  Bible.  The  public 
participation  of  the  rites  of  any  religion  is,  in 
its  nature,  a  profession  of  that  religion.  It  is 
on  this  ground  the  apostle  charges  with  idola- 
try the  Corinthians  who,  within  the  precincts 
of  the  heathen  temples,  partook  of  the  sacri- 
fices offered  to  idols.  I  speak  as  to  wise  men, 
judge  ye  what  I  say.  The  participation  of  a 
Christian  ordinance,  is  it  not  an  act  of  Chris- 
tian worship  ?  The  participation  of  a  Jewish 
sacrifice,  is  it  not  an  act  of  Jewish  worship  ? 
and  by  parity  of  reasoning,  is  not  the  partici- 
pation of  a  heathen  ordinance  an  act  of  hea- 
then worship?  This  is  the  purport  of  the 
apostle's  argument  in  1  Cor.  x.  15 — 21,  and 
it  is  obviously  founded  on  the  admitted  truth, 
that  joining  in  the  celebration  of  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  gospel,  is,  from  the  nature  of 
the  act,  a  profession  of  the  religion  of  Christ. 
The  recipient  thereby  places  himself  in  com- 
munion with  the  object  of  worship  and  with 
all  his  fellow-worshippers.  For  we  being 
many  are  one  bread  and  one  body ;  for  we  are 
all  partakers  of  one  bread.  Hence  the  apos- 
tle adds.  Ye  cannot  drink  of  the  cup  of  the 
Lord  and  of  the  cup  of  devils ;  ye  cannot  be 
partakers  of  the  Lord's  table  and  the  table  of 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  287 

devils.  It  is  impossible  to  be  in  communion 
with  Christ  and  Satan  at  the  same  time,  and, 
therefore,  it  is  the  grossest  inconsistency  to 
partake  at  the  same  time  of  the  ordinances  of 
Christ  and  of  the  sacrifices  of  devils.  All 
this  supposes  that  a  participation  of  Christian 
ordinances  is  a  profession  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. When  Christ  commanded  the  apos- 
tles to  make  disciples,  baptizing  them,  &c., 
he  obviously  intended  that  baptism  should  be 
a  badge  of  discipleship,  or  that  by  that  rite 
his  followers  should  acknowledge  their  rela- 
tion to  him.  This,  indeed,  is  the  prominent 
idea  in  the  formula.  To  baptize  in  the  name 
of  any  one.  And  hence  Paul  reminded  the 
Corinthians  that  they  were  not  his  disciples 
or  followers,  by  asking  them.  Were  ye  bap- 
tized in  the  name  of  Paul?  It  is,  however, 
unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  this  point,  as  it  is 
universally  conceded  that  the  participation  of 
the  ordinances  of  the  gospel  is  the  appointed 
mode  of  confessing  Christ  before  the  world. 

As  it  is  the  duty  of  every  Christian  to  con- 
fess Christ,  and  to  confess  him  in  this  parti- 
cular way,  it  is  necessary  to  inquire  more 
particularly  into  the  nature  and  design  of 
these  ordinances.  It  has  long  been  customa- 
ry in  the  church  to  call  these  institutions  sa- 


288  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

craments.  Little  light,  however,  can  be  de- 
rived from  the  use  of  this  term,  because  it  is 
not  a  scriptural  word,  and  because  it  is  em- 
ployed by  ancient  writers  in  a  very  compre- 
hensive sense.  As  it  comes  from  the  word 
meaning  to  consecrate,  any  thing  sacred  was 
called  a  sacrament.  The  Romans  applied 
the  term  to  a  sum  of  money  deposited  in  the 
hands  of  the  high  priest  to  abide  the  deci- 
sion of  a  suit.  They  also  called  the  oath  by 
which  soldiers  consecrate  themselves  to  the 
military  service  a  sacrament;  and  in  the 
Latin  church,  (whence  we  have  borrowed 
the  word),  it  was  used  as  synonymous  with 
mystery,  not  only  as  applied  to  things  which 
had  a  hidden  meaning,  but  in  its  wider  sense 
as  signifying  what  was  undiscoverable  by 
human  reason.  In  this  sense  the  Gospel  it- 
self, the  calling  of  the  Gentiles,  the  future 
conversion  of  the  Jews  are  sacraments.  It  is 
not  from  a  word  of  such  latitude  of  meaning 
that  the  nature  of  the  Christian  ordinances 
can  be  learned;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the 
Christian  sense  of  the  word  must  be  deter- 
mined by  what  the  Scriptures  teach  concern- 
ing the  ordinances  to  which  the  word  is  now 
applied. 

They  are,  in  the  first  place,  rites  of  divine 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  289 

appointment,  and  not  of  human  institution. 
When  Christ  was  about  to  ascend  into  hea- 
ven, he  said.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatso- 
ever I  have  commanded  you;  and,  lo,  I  am 
with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world.  The  rite  of  baptism  was,  therefore, 
instituted  by  Christ,  and  is  to  be  continued 
as  long  as  there  are  disciples  to  be  made,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world.  And  on  the  night 
in  which  he  was  betrayed,  he  instituted  the 
Lord's  supper,  saying,  This  do  in  remem- 
brance of  me,  with  the  command  that  it 
should  be  observed  until  he  comes.  The 
New  Testament  furnishes  abundant  evidence 
that  the  apostles  enjoined,  both  by  precept 
and  example,  the  observance  of  these  ordi- 
nances, agreeably  to  the  Saviour's  directions. 
No  rite,  therefore,  is  a  sacrament  in  the 
Christian  sense  of  the  term,  which  is  not  a 
matter  of  divine  appointment,  and  of  perpetu- 
al obligation. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Bible  teaches  us 

that  the  sacraments  are  the  signs  of  spiritual 

blessings.     They  are  designed  by  outward, 

significant  actions,  to  represent  inward,  spi- 

26 


290  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

ritual  gifts.  The  great  blessing  offered  in 
the  Gospel  is  union  with  Christ,  and  the 
consequent  participation  of  his  merits  and 
Spirit,  by  which  we  are  freed  from  the  con- 
demnation and  pollution  of  sin.  And  this  is 
the  blessing  which  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
supper  are  designed  to  represent.  Hence  it 
is  said,  As  many  as  have  been  baptized  into 
Christ,  have  put  on  Christ;  which  implies 
union  with  him.*  Believers  are  said  to  be 
baptized  into  one  body.f  That  is,  by  baptism 
they  are  constituted  one  body ;  but  they  are 
one  body  only  in  virtue  of  their  union  with 
their  common  head.  Know  ye  not,  asks  the 
apostle,  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized 
into  Jesus  Christ,  were  baptized  into  his 
death  ?  i.  e.  so  as  to  be  united  with  him  in 
his  death. f  As  union  with  Christ  is  the 
great  blessing  signified  by  baptism,  and  as 
pardon  and  sanctification  are  the  consequen- 
ces of  that  union,  this  ordinance  is  also  repre- 
sented as  symbolizing  these  two  great  bless- 
ings of  the  covenant  of  grace.  Thus  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  Peter  said  to  the  people, 
Repent,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you,  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of 

♦  Gal.  iii.  27.  f  1  Cor.  xii.  13.  \  Rom.  vi.  2. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  291 

sins.*  And  Ananias  said  to  Paul,  Arise  and 
be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling 
on  the  name  of  the  Lord.f  In  many  similar 
passages  the  reference  of  baptism  to  pardon 
is  very  clearly  expressed. 

No  less  clear  is  its  intended  significancy  of 
sanctification.  This  is  plainly  tanght  in  the 
passages  from  the  epistles  to  the  Galatians 
and  Romans,  quoted  above,  in  which  baptism 
is  declared  to  represent  our  union  with 
Christ,  and  our  death  to  sin  and  our  living 
unto  God.  And  in  the  epistle  to  Titus,  J  it  is 
called  "the  washing  of  regeneration;"  and  in 
the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,^  Christ  is  said 
to  sanctify  his  church  ''with  the  washing  of 
water  by  the  word."  It  need  hardly  be  re- 
marked that  the  ordinance  is  appropriately 
significant  of  these  great  truths.  Water  is 
the  common  means  of  purification.  Both  the 
guilt  and  pollution  of  sin,  axe  represented  in 
Scripture  as  a  defilement,  and  hence  they  are 
said  to  be  washed  away  by  the  blood  and 
Spirit  of  Christ.  It  is  this  two-fold  purifica- 
tion that  is  so  appropriately  represented  by 
the  ordinance  in  question. 

*  Actsii.  38.  t  Actsxxii.  16. 

I  Titus  iii.  5.  5  Eph.  v.  26. 


292  PROFilSSION  OF  RELIGION. 

The  same  truths,  under  a  different  aspect, 
are  exhibited  in  the  Lord's  supper.  That 
the  bread  represents  the  body  of  Christ,  and 
the  wine  his  blood,  is  expressly  declared  by 
our  Saviour  when  he  said,  ''  This  is  my  body, 
this  is  my,  blood."  And  by  our  participation 
of  the  bread  and  wine,  our  participation  of 
that  of  which  they  are  the  symbols,  is  clearly 
represented.  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we 
bless,  is  it  not  the  communion  of  the  blood  of 
Christ?  The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it 
not  the  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ? 
For  we  being  many  are  one  bread,  and  one 
body,  for  we  are  all  partakers  of  that  one 
bread.*  Here,  as  in  the  passage  quoted 
above  in  reference  to  baptism,  believers  are 
declared  to  be  one  body,  because  by  partaking 
of  the  Lord's  supper  their  communion  with 
the  Lord  Jesus  is  expressed.  These  ordi- 
nances, therefore,  though  in  different  ways, 
set  forth  the  same  great  truth.  They  are 
both  divinely  appointed  symbols  of  our  union 
with  Christ,  and  of  our  participation  of  the 
benefits  which  flow  from  his  mediation  and 
death. 

We  should  greatly  err,  however,  if  we  sup- 

*  1  Cor.  X.  16,  17. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  293 

posed  they  were  merely  signs.  We  are 
taught  that  they  are  seals;  that  they  were 
appointed  by  Christ  to  certify  to  believers 
their  interest  in  the  blessings  of  the  covenant 
of  grace.  Among  men  a  seal  is  used  for  the 
purpose  of  authentication  and  confirmation. 
It  is  intended  to  assure  the  party  concerned 
that  the  document  to  which  it  is  attached,  is 
genuine  and  binding.  In  condescension  to 
our  weakness,  God  has  been  pleased  not  only 
to  promise  pardon  and  purity  to  believers,  but 
to  appoint  these  ordinances  as  seals  of  his 
promises.  The  simple  assurance  given  to 
Noah  that  the  earth  should  not  a  second  time 
be  destroyed  by  a  deluge,  might  have  been  a 
sufficient  foundation  for  confidence ;  but  God 
saw  fit  to  appoint  the  rainbow  to  be  a  per- 
petual confirmation  of  his  covenant;  and 
throughout  all  generations  when  that  bow 
appears,  men  feel  that  it  is  not  merely  a  sign 
of  the  returning  sun,  but  a  divinely  appoint- 
ed pledge  of  the  promise  of  God.  In  like 
manner  God  willing  more  abundantly  to  show 
unto  his  people  the  immutability  of  his  pro- 
mise, has  confirmed  it  by  these  seals,  which 
are  designed  to  assure  the  believer  that  as 
certainly  as  he  receives  the  signs  of  the  bless- 
25^ 


294  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

ings  of  the  covenant,  he  shall  receive  the 
blessings  themselves. 

That  these  ordinances  were  really  intend- 
ed to  confirm  the  promises  of  God,  is  plain 
from  the  fact  that  Paul  says  that  circumcision 
was  the  seal  of  the  righteousness  of  faith; 
that  is,  it  was  designed  to  assure  Abraham 
and  his  descendants  that  God  would  regard 
and  treat  as  righteous  all  who  believed  his 
words.  And  that  the  apostle  regarded  bap- 
tism in  the  same  light  is  obvious  from  Col.  ii. 
11,  &c.,  where  baptism  and  circumcision  are 
spoken  of  as  of  similar  import.  And  in  re- 
ference to  the  Lord's  supper,  the  Saviour 
said.  This  cup  is  the  New  Testament  in  my 
blood ;  that  is,  the  new  covenant  was  ratified 
by  his  blood.  Of  that  blood  the  cup  is  the 
appointed  memorial,  and  it  is,  therefore,  at 
the  same  time,  the  memorial  and  confirma- 
tion of  the  covenant  itself;  it  is  the  assurance 
to  us  that  God  has  promised  the  blessings  of 
that  covenant  to  all  believers.  Baptism  and 
the  Lord's  supper  are,  therefore,  visible 
pledges  or  confirmations  of  the  fact  that 
Christ  has  died,  that  his  death  has  been  ac- 
cepted as  a  propitiation  for  sin,  and  that  God, 
for  his  sake,  will  grant  pardon,  sanctification 
and  eternal  life  to  all  them  that  believe. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  295 

If,  however,  the  sacraments  are  seals  on  the 
part  of  God,  the  reception  of  them  implies  a 
voluntary  engagement  on  the  part  of  the 
Christian  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of 
Christ.  The  gospel  is  represented  under  the 
form  of  a  covenant.  It  is  so  called  by  Christ 
himself.  But  a  covenant  implies  mutual  sti- 
pulations. God  promises  to  his  people  par- 
don and  salvation ;  in  his  strength,  they  pro- 
mise faith  and  obedience.  The  sacraments 
are  the  seals  of  this  covenant.  God,  in  their 
appointment,  binds  himself  to  the  perform- 
ance of  his  promise ;  his  people,  by  receiving 
them,  bind  themselves  to  trust  and  serve  him. 
This  idea  is  included  in  the  representation 
given  in  Romans  vi.  3,  4,  where  believers  are 
said  to  have  been  buried  with  Christ  in  bap- 
tism, that  as  he  rose  from  the  dead,  they  also 
should  walk  in  newness  of  life.  It  is  inclu- 
ded also  in  the  very  formula  of  baptism ;  for 
to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son 
and  Holy  Ghost,  implies  a  voluntary  dedica- 
tion of  ourselves  to  God,  as  our  Father,  Re- 
deemer and  Sanctifier.  The  same  thing  is 
taught  in  all  the  passages  in  which  a  partici- 
pation of  Christian  ordinances,  is  said  to  in- 
clude a  profession  o:"  the  gospel;  for  the 
gospel  imposes  duties  as  well  as  promises 
blessings. 


296  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

It  is  probably  in  this  view  of  these  ordi- 
nances that  the  name,  sacraments,  was  so 
generally  applied  to  them.  For  as  the  oath 
by  which  the  soldier  consecrated  himself  to 
the  military  service,  was  called  a  sacrament, 
so  the  ordinances  in  which  the  believer  binds 
himself  to  the  service  of  Christ,  was  appro- 
priately designated  by  the  same  term.  The 
phrase  sacramental  host  is,  therefore,  not  in- 
aptly applied  to  the  people  of  God,  considered 
as  a  great  multitude,  who  have  solemnly 
bound  themselves  by  sacraments  to  live  to 
his  glory. 

Baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper  being  or- 
dinances of  divine  appointment  and  perpetual 
obligation,  designed  to  distinguish  the  fol- 
lowers of  Christ  from  the  world ;  to  exhibit 
the  truths  of  the  gospel ;  to  seal  to  believers 
the  divine  promises,  and  to  bring  them  into 
covenant  with  God,  the  interesting  question 
arises.  What  good  do  they  do  ?  What  bene- 
fits are  we  authorized  to  expect  from  them  ? 
The  answer  commonly  given  to  this  question 
by  the  great  body  of  evangelical  Christians 
is,  that  the  sacraments  are  efficacious  means 
of  grace,  not  merely  exhibiting  to,  but  actual- 
ly conferring  upon  those  who  worthily  re- 
ceive them,  the  benefits  which  they  repre- 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  297 

sent.     As  they  are  divinely  appointed  to  set 
forth  Christ  and  his  benefits,  and  to  assure 
the  believer  of  his  interest  therein,  they  have, 
even  as  moral  means,  a  powerful  influence  to 
confirm  his  faith,  to  excite  his  gratitude  and 
love,  and  to  open  the  fountains  both  of  peni- 
tence and  joy.     But  as  the  word  of  God  has 
not  only  its  own  moral  influence,  as  truth,  in 
the  sanctification  of  the  soul,  but  also,  when 
attended  by  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit, 
a  divine  and  effectual  power ;  so  the  sacra- 
ments have  not  only  the  influence  due  to  the 
lively  exhibition  of  truth,  but  as  means  of 
God's    appointment,    and    attended    by    his 
Spirit,  they  become  efficacious  signs  of  grace, 
communicating  what  they  signify.     Nothing 
less  than  this  can  satisfy  the  strong  language 
of  the  Scriptures  on  this  subject,  or  the  ex- 
perience of  God's  people.     When  the  Chris- 
tian, in  the   exercise   of  faith,   sees   in   the. 
w^ater  of  baptism  the  lively  emblem  of  the 
purifying  influence  of  the  blood  and  Spirit  of 
Christ,  and  in  the  bread  and  wine  the  memo- 
rials of  the  Saviour's  death,  and  knows  that 
they  are  appointed  to  be  a  pledge  of  the  sal- 
vation of  all  believers,  he  receives  Christ,  in 
receiving  the  appointed  symbols  of  his  grace ; 
he  receives  anew  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins ; 


298  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

he  enters  into  fellowship  with  God,  and  his 
soul  is  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  Hence  it 
is  that  believers  so  often  find  their  strength 
renewed,  their  faith  confirmed,  their  purposes 
invigorated,  their  hearts  filled  with  joy  and 
love,  while  attending  on  these  ordinances. 

As  the  efiicacy  of  the  sacraments  is  a  sub- 
ject of  great  practical  importance,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  examine  more  particularly  what  the 
Scriptures  teach  on  this  subject.  Baptism  is 
called  the  washing  of  regeneration ;  it  is  said 
to  unite  us  to  Christ,*  to  make  us  partakers 
of  his  death  and  life,!  to  wash  away  our 
sins,  J  to  save  the  soul.  ^  The  bread  and 
Avine,  in  the  Lord's  supper,  are  said  to  be  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ ;  to  partake  of  these 
emblems,  is  said  to  secure  union  with  Christ 
and  a  participation  of  the  merits  of  his 
death.  II  These  and  similar  passages  must 
be  understood  either  with  or  without  limita- 
tion. If  they  are  to  be  limited,  the  limitation 
must  not  be  arbitrarily  imposed,  but  supplied 
by  the  Scriptures  themselves.  We  have  no 
right  to  say  that  the  sacraments  confer  these 
benefits  in  every  case  in  which  no  moral  im- 
pediment is  interposed,  because  no  such  limi- 

Gal.  iii.  27.       t  Rom.  vi.  4,  5.      I  Acts  xxii.  16. 
5  1  Pet.  iii.  21.  ||  1  Cor.  x.  16,  17. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  299 

tation  is  expressed  in  the  passages  them- 
selves, nor  elsewhere  taught  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. The  limitation  which  the  Scriptures 
do  impose  on  these  passages  is  the  necessity 
of  faith.  They  teach  that  the  sacraments 
are  thus  efficacious,  not  to  every  recipient, 
but  to  the  believer;  to  those  who  already 
have  the  grace  which  these  ordinances  re- 
present. If  it  be  asked  how  they  can  be  said 
to  confer  the  grace  which  is  already  possess- 
ed? let  it  be  remembered  that  he  who  has 
been  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Christ, 
needs  the  application  to  be  often  repeated; 
he  who  has  received  the  Holy  Spirit  needs 
to  receive  him  again ;  he  who  has  received 
Christ  needs  to  receive  him  day  by  day  that 
he  may  live  upon  him.  That  the  Scriptures 
teach  that  the  passages  in  question  are  to  be 
understood  with  the  qualifications  just  stated, 
is  clear  because  otherwise  they  would  teach 
that  every  one  who  is  baptized  is  a  child  of 
God,  renewed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  united  to 
Christ  and  made  a  partaker  of  the  saving 
benefits  of  his  death.  But  this  cannot  be 
true,  first,  because  the  Bible  abundantly 
teaches  that  those  who  are  renewed  and  re- 
ceive the  Holy  Spirit,  have  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit,  love,  gentleness,  goodness,  and  faith. 


300  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

Where  these  are  not,  there  the  Spirit  is  not. 
But  these  fruits  do  not  uniformly,  nor  even 
generally  attend  the  reception  of  the  outward 
ordinance.  We  know  that  although  Simon 
Magus  was  baptized,  he  remained  in  the  gall 
of  bitterness  and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity. 
We  know,  from  Paul's  epistles,  that  many  of 
the  baptized  Galatians  and  Corinthians  were 
the  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ.  We 
know  from  our  own  daily  observation  that 
multitudes  of  those  who  are  baptized  and  re- 
ceived to  the  Lord's  supper,  do  not  differ  in 
temper  or  life  from  the  world  around  them. 
God,  therefore,  in  the  actual  administration 
of  his  kingdom,  contradicts  that  interpreta- 
tion of  his  word  which  makes  it  teach  that 
the  sacraments  always  confer  the  benefits 
which  they  represent.  It  is  to  degrade  the 
renewing  of  the  heart  and  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  into  things  of  no  account,  to  re- 
present them  as  the  portion  of  the  unholy 
multitudes  who  in  every  age  and  church 
have  been  admitted  to  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  supper. 

In  the  second  place  this  interpretation  is 
opposed  to  what  the  Scriptures  elsewhere 
teach  of  the  nature  of  sacraments.  The  opi- 
nion that  such  ordinances  uniformly  convey 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  301 

grace  and  introduce  the  recipient  into  favour 
with  God,  was  one  of  those  false  doctrines  of 
the  Jews  which  Paul  so  earnestly  combated. 
Great  is  the  virtue  of  circumcision,  for  no  cir- 
cumcised person  enters  hell,  was  the  confi- 
dent and  destructive  persuasion  of  the  formal- 
ists of  that  age.  In  opposition  to  this  doc- 
trine, the  apostle  assured  them  that  circum- 
cision would,  indeed,  profit  them,  if  they  kept 
the  law ;  but  if  they  broke  the  law,  their  cir- 
cumcision became  uncircumcision.  For  he 
is  not  a  Jew  who  is  one  outwardly,  neither  is 
that  circumcision  which  is  outward  in  the 
flesh ;  but  he  is  a  Jew  who  is  one  inwardly ; 
and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart,  in  the 
spirit,  and  not  in  the  letter.*  We  have  here 
a  very  explicit  statement  of  the  nature  and 
efficacy  of  a  sacrament.  It  has  no  efficacy  in 
itself  considered;  its  value  depends  on  the 
presence  or  performance  of  the  condition  of 
the  covenant  to  which  it  is  attached.  If  the 
Jews  kept  the  law,  their  circumcision  secured 
to  them  all  the  blessings  of  the  covenant  un- 
der which  they  lived.  But  if  they  broke  the 
law,  their  circumcision  was  of  no  avail.  It 
was,  therefore,  not  external  circumcision  that 
made  a  man  a  Jew ;  but  the  circumcision  of 

*  Rom.  ii.  25—29. 
26 


302  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

the  heart,  of  which  the  external  rite  was  the 
sign.  In  like  manner  it  is  not  external  bap- 
tism that  makes  a  man  a  Christian,  but  the 
baptism  of  the  Spirit,  of  which  the  washing 
with  water  is  the  appointed  symbol.  The 
two  are  not  necessarily  connected,  and  where 
the  latter  is  wanting,  the  former  can  be  of  no 
avail.  And,  lest  it  should  be  supposed  that 
we  have  no  right  to  apply  what  is  said  of  the 
sacraments  of  the  old  dispensation  to  those  of 
the  new,  the  very  same  doctrine  is  taught  in 
reference  to  the  New  Testament  sacraments 
themselves.  The  apostle  Peter  says.  We  are 
saved  by  water ;  not  ordinary  water,  but  by 
baptism;  not  mere  external  baptism,  how- 
ever, but  by  the  sincere  turning  of  the  heart 
to  God,  that  is,  by  the  inward  change  of 
which  baptism  is  the  outward  sign.^  This 
passage,  in  its  doctrinal  import,  is  precisely 
parallel  to  that  referring  to  circumcision  just 
quoted.  Neither  rite,  therefore,  necessarily 
conveyed  the  grace  of  which  they  were  the 
signs,  and  to  neither  is  any  value  ascribed 
apart  from  the  spiritual  change  which  they 
are  appointed  to  represent.  In  like  manner, 
in  reference  to  the  Lord's  supper,  the  apostle 
teaches  that,  so  far  from  the  mere  external 

*  1  Pet  iii.  21. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  303 

act  being  necessarily  connected  with  the  re- 
ception of  the  benefits  of  Christ's  death,  those 
who  ate  and  drank  unworthily,  ate  and  drank 
judgment  to  themselves.  Nothing,  indeed, 
can  be  more  opposed  to  the  whole  spirit  of 
the  religion  of  the  Bible,  than  the  doctrine 
that  external  rites  are  necessarily  connected 
with  spiritual  blessings;  that  the  favour  of 
God  is  to  be  obtained  by  mere  unresisting 
submission  to  religious  ceremonies.  A  man 
may  be  baptized,  or  circumcised  on  the  eighth 
day,  he  may  belong  to  the  purest  and  most 
apostolic  church,  he  may  be  blameless  as 
touching  all  the  external  prescriptions  of  the 
Gospel,  and  still  be  destitute  of  the  grace  of 
God  and  unprepared  for  his  presence.  It  is 
not  by  works  of  righteousness,  much  less  by 
ceremonial  observances,  that  we  are  to,  be 
saved,  but  by  the  righteousness  of  Christ  and 
the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  is  not 
a  Christian  who  is  one  outwardly,  nor  is  that 
baptism  which  is  outward  in  the  flesh ;  but 
he  is  a  Christian  who  is  one  inwardly,  and 
the  baptism  which  is  unto  salvation,  is  of  the 
heart,  in  the  spirit  and  not  in  the  letter. 

In  the  third  place,  that  the  sacraments  are 
not  designed  to  convey  grace  to  those  who 
have  it  not,  is  plain  because  the  Scriptures 


304  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

require  those  who  are  admitted  to  these  ordi- 
nances to  make  a  profession  of  their  faith  and 
repentance.  When  the  apostles  began  to 
preach,  we  are  told  that,  Those  that  gladly 
received  the  word  were  baptized.^  When 
the  eunuch  desired  to  be  baptized,  Philip  said 
to  him,  If  thou  believest  with  all  thy  heart, 
thou  mayest.f  Cornelius  did  not  receive  the 
Holy  Spirit,  in  the  first  instance  by  baptism, 
but  when  Peter  had  evidence  that  he  had 
already  received  the  Spirit,  he  asked.  Can 
any  man  forbid  water,  that  these  should  not 
be  baptized,  which  have  received  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  well  as  we? J  Paul  was  a  penitent 
believer  before  his  baptism ;  and  thus  in  all 
other  cases  when  men  were  baptized,  they 
professed  to  be  Christians.  They  were  not 
made  Christians  by  their  admission  to  the  sa- 
craments; but  their  Christian  character  or 
standing  was  thereby  acknowledged.  It  has 
accordingly  been  the  custom  in  all  ages  to 
require  a  profession  of  faith  on  the  part  of 
those  who  are  received  to  sealing  ordinances. 
But  faith  is  an  exercise  of  a  renewed  heart ; 
and  if  faith  supposes  regeneration,  and  bap- 
tism supposes  faith,  then  by  the  voice  of  the 

*  Acts  ii.  41.  t  Acts  viii.  37.  f  Acts  x.  47. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  306 

church  as  well  as  of  Scripture,  baptism  also 
supposes  the  renovation  of  the  heart. 

Finally,  God  bears  his  testimony  against 
the  doctrine  which  teaches  an  inseparable 
connexion  between  these  ordinances  and  spi- 
ritual blessings,  by  granting  these  blessings 
to  those  who  have  not  received  any  sacra- 
mental rite.  Abraham  was  justified  before 
he  was  circumcised;  Cornelius  was  a  just 
man,  and  accepted  of  God,  and  a  recipient  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  before  he  was  baptized ;  the 
penitent  thief  was  assured  of  his  admission 
into  paradise  though  he  was  never  born  of 
water.  If  then  the  Scriptures  require  the 
evidence  of  regeneration  in  those  who  would 
acceptably  attend  upon  the  sacraments;  if 
they  teach  that  many  who  receive  the  out- 
ward sign  do  not  receive  the  inward  grace ; 
and  on  the  other  hand,  that  many  receive  the 
inward  grace,  who  have  not  received  the  out- 
ward sign,  then  do  they  also  teach  that  these 
ordinances  are  not  appointed  to  convey,  in 
the  first  instance,  pardon  and  sanctification, 
but  to  be  signs  and  seals  of  these  blessings  to 
the  penitent  believer,  and  that  to  him,  and  to 
him  only  are  they  efficacious  means  of  grace. 

It  is,  therefore,  obvious  that  those  passages 
in    Scripture,  which  refer  our  salvation  to 
26* 


306  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION, 

baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper,  cannot,  con- 
sistently with  the  plain  teaching  of  the  Bible, 
be  understood  strictly  according  to  the  letter. 
At  the  same  time  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  they  are  to  be  perverted,  or  taken  in  any 
other  than  their  natural  sense ;  that  is,  in  any 
other  sense  than  that  which  the  universally 
received  rules  of  interpretation  justify  and  re- 
quire. It  is  agreeable  to  the  common  lan- 
guage of  men  and  to  the  usage  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, that  when  any  declaration  or  service  is 
the  appointed  means  of  professing  faith  and 
obedience,  making  such  declaration  or  per- 
forming such  service  is  said  to  secure  the 
blessings  which  are  promised  to  the  faith 
thereby  professed.  It  is  said.  Whosoever  con- 
fesseth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh 
is  born  of  God ;  and  again.  With  the  mouth 
confession  is  made  unto  salvation.  This  is 
said  because  confession  implies  faith ;  and 
no  one  supposes  that  an  insincere,  careless, 
heartless  confession  will  secure  the  salvation 
of  any  man.  Thus  also  we  are  said  to  be 
saved  by  calling  on  the  Lord,  because  invo- 
cation implies  trust.  In  like  manner  we  are 
said  to  be  saved  by  baptism,  because  baptism 
implies  faith.  If  this  faith  be  wanting,  bap- 
tism can  do  us  no  more  good  than  a  heartless 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION:  307 

confession.  There  is  no  more  difficulty  in 
understanding  why  the  Scriptures  should 
connect  salvation  with  the  use  of  the  sacra- 
ments, than  in  understanding  why  they 
should  connect  the  same  blessing  with  invo- 
cation or  confession.  There  is  no  difficulty 
in  either  case,  if  we  allow  the  Scriptures  to 
explain  themselves,  and  interpret  them  as  we 
explain  all  other  writings. 

Again,  it  is  according  to  scriptural  usage  to 
ascribe  to  a  sign  the  name  and  attributes  of 
the  thing  signified.  Thus  circumcision  is 
called  the  covenant  of  God,  because  it  was 
the  sign  of  that  covenant.  Christ  called  the 
cup  the  new  covenant ;  the  wine  he  called  his 
blood  and  the  bread  his  body.  Those  who 
partake  of  the  wine  are,  therefore,  said  to  re- 
ceive his  blood,  and  of  course  the  benefits 
which  it  purchased. 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  also,  that  the  sa- 
craments are  seals,  and  that  it  is  common  to 
attribute  to  any  ceremony,  by  which  an  en- 
gagement is  ratified,  the  efficacy  which  be- 
longs not  to  the  ceremony,  but  to  the  engage- 
ment itself.  The  ceremonial  of  inauguration 
is  said  to  induct  a  man  into  the  office,  the 
right  to  which  it  merely  publicly  declares 
and  confirms.     Even  in  the  strict  language 


308  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

of  the  law,  a  deed,  with  its  signature  and 
seal,  is  said  to  convey  a  right  of  property, 
although  it  is  simply  the  evidence  of  the  pur- 
pose of  the  original  possessor.  It  is  that  pur- 
pose which  conveys  the  right,  and  if  it  can 
be  shown  that  the  man  who  holds  the  deed 
was  not  the  man  intended  by  the  grantor,  the 
deed  would  be  regarded  as  worthless.  If  a 
man  deeds  an  estate  to  A,  on  the  assumption 
that  he  is  the  son  of  B,  should  it  be  proved 
that  A  was  not  the  son  of  B,  the  deed  would 
convey  to  him  no  valid  title.  But  the  bless- 
ings of  the  Gospel  are  declared  to  be  intend- 
ed for  penitent  believers ;  the  sacraments  are 
the  external  means  of  recognizing  the  convey- 
ance of  these  blessings;  to  those  who  are 
really  what  they  profess  to  be,  they  do  in 
fact  convey  and  secure  these  blessings;  to 
others  they  confer  no  such  benefits.  When 
an  unbeliever  receives  these  ordinances,  he 
no  more  obtains  a  title  to  the  blessings  which 
they  represent,  than  a  man  obtains  a  title  to 
an  estate  by  falsely  assuming  the  name  of  the 
person  for  whom  it  is  intended. 

There  is  nothing,  therefore,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Scriptures  on  this  subject, 
which  is  not  perfectly  consistent  with  the 
common  protestant  doctrine  that  the  sacra- 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  309 

ments  have  no  inherent  efficacy  of  their  own, 
but  become  efficacious  means  of  grace  to 
those  who  believe;  the  Holy  Spirit  thereby 
communicating  to  believers  the  blessings  of 
which  those  ordinances  are  the  significant 
representations. 

Section  III.  Obligation  to  attend  upon 
the  Sacraments.  Qualifications  for  the  pro- 
per discharge  of  the  duty. 

The  obligation  which  rests  upon  all  Chris- 
tians to  attend  upon  the  ordinances  of  bap- 
tism and  the  Lord's  supper,  arises  clearly 
from  what  has  been  shown  to  be  their  nature 
and  design.  We  have  seen  that  they  are  in- 
stitutions appointed  by  Christ  himself  He 
has  commanded  all  his  followers  to  be  bap- 
tized and  to  commemorate  his  death,  in  a 
prescribed  manner.  As  obedience  to  Christ 
is  necessary,  so  is  a  participation  of  these  or- 
dinances. As,  however,  it  is  a  necessity  aris- 
ing out  of  a  positive  command,  it  is  a  quali- 
fied necessity,  since  such  commands  are  not 
binding  under  all  circumstances.  It  is  im- 
possible that  a  sinner  should  be  saved  with- 
out faith  and  repentance ;  but  it  is  not  impos- 
sible that  he  should  be  saved  without  the 


310  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

sacraments.  As  we  are  bound  to  keep  the 
Sabbath  as  part  of  our  obedience  to  God,  and 
yet  may  innocently  labour  on  that  day  when 
necessity  or  mercy  requires  it;  so  although 
bound  to  present  ourselves  at  the  table  of  the 
Lord  as  an  act  of  obedience,  we  may  be  inno- 
cently absent,  whenever  that  absence  is  not 
the  effect  of  a  wilful  or  disobedient  spirit. 
As,  however,  the  command  of  Christ  on  this 
subject  is  express,  the  obligation  which  it  im- 
poses is  of  the  strongest  character. 

In  the  second  place,  it  has  been  shown  that 
to  confess  Christ  before  men  is  an  indispensa- 
ble duty,  and  that  the  sacraments  are  the  ap- 
pointed means  for  making  this  confession ;  it 
follows,  therefore,  that  attendance  on  the  sa- 
craments is  also  an  indispensable  duty. 
When  in  human  governments  the  laws  pre- 
scribe a  particular  mode  in  which  we  are  to 
acknowledge  allegiance  to  our  country,  it  is 
not  competent  for  us  to  neglect  that  mode ; 
nor  have  we  a  right  to  adopt  a  different 
method  of  acknowledgment,  or  to  suffer  our 
allegiance  to  be  inferred  from  our  conduct. 
If  we  wish  to  be  recognised  as  citizens,  we 
must,  in  the  prescribed  form,  acknowledge 
ourselves  such.  And  if  Christ  has  prescribed 
a  particular  way  in  which  he  will  be  acknow- 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  311 

ledged  by  his  followers,  intelligently  and  wil- 
fully to  refuse  obedience  to  his  command,  is 
to  renounce  our  allegiance  to  him  and  to  for- 
feit the  benefits  of  his  kingdom. 

Again,  as  the  sacraments  are  the  seals  of 
the  covenant  of  grace,  to  reject  these  seals  is 
to  reject  the  covenant  itself  It  is  not  meant 
that  they  are  in  such  a  sense  indispensable 
that  if  a  man  perform  the  conditions  of  the 
covenant,  he  will  be  excluded  from  its  bene- 
fits, for  the  want  of  the  seals.  Among  men, 
indeed,  we  often  see  that  the  want  of  the  pre- 
scribed number  of  witnesses  to  a  signature, 
the  want  of  a  seal,  or  even  a  clerical  error  in 
a  document,  is  sufficient  to  set  aside  a  solemn 
engagement.  Nothing  of  this  kind  can  occur 
under  the  government  of  God,  where  justice 
is  never  embarrassed  by  technical  formalities. 
The  apostle  expressly  teaches  that  as  circum- 
cision becomes  uncircumcision,  if  the  law  be 
broken,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  if  a  man  keep 
the  law,  his  uncircumcision  shall  be  counted 
for  circumcision.  It  is  admitted,  therefore, 
that  if  a  man  has  the  faith,  repentance  and 
obedience  required  by  the  gospel,  his  salva- 
tion is  secure.  But  no  man  has  a  right  to 
assume  that  he  has  this  faith  and  repentance, 
who  neglects  to  obey  the  commands  of  Christ. 


312  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

The  essential  conditions  of  salvation  have 
been  the  same  under  every  dispensation.  If 
any  man,  under  the  old  economy,  had  the 
faith  of  Abraham,  he  was  entitled  to  the  bless- 
ings promised  to  Abraham.  Nevertheless,  as 
circumcision  was  the  appointed  means  of  ex- 
pressing that  faith,  and  of  accepting  the  cove- 
nant of  which  it  was  the  condition,  it  was  ex- 
pressly declared,  that  the  uncircumcised  man- 
child,  whose  flesh  of  his  foreskin  is  not  cir- 
cumcised, that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  his 
people ;  he  hath  broken  my  covenant.*  Is  it 
not  equally  true  that  those  .who  intelligently 
and  wilfully  neglect  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
supper,  break  the  covenant  under  which  the 
church  is  now  placed  ?  It  will  not  do  for  us 
to  say,  if  we  have  the  substance,  the  form  is 
of  little  account.  We  all  know  that  if  an 
ancient  Israelite  had  repentance  toward  God 
and  faith  in  the  promised  Messiah,  his  sins 
were  forgiven ;  and  yet  unless  he  expressed 
his  faith  by  bringing  the  appointed  sacrifice 
to  the  altar,  he  was  not  forgiven.  God  saw 
fit  that  the  mode  of  pardon  should  be  thus 
exhibited  and  recognised.  In  like  manner 
he  now  requires  that  the  method  of  salvation 
should   be   publicly   acknowledged   and   set 

*  Gen.  xvii.  14. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  313 

forth  in  the  ordinances  of  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  supper.  We  do,  therefore,  as  really 
reject  the  covenant  of  God  by  neglecting 
these  ordinances,  as  did  the  Israelites  who 
rejected  circumcision  or  the  offering  of  sacri- 
fices. 

Another  illustration  of  this  subject  may  be 
borrowed  from  the  marriage  contract.  The 
essence  of  the  covenant  is  the  mutual  consent 
of  parties.  But  in  all  civilized  countries  some 
public  manifestation  of  that  consent  is  essen- 
tial to  the  validity  of  the  engagement.  Thus, 
also,  the  essence  of  our  covenant  with  God  is 
repentance  and  faith;  but  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  supper  being  the  divinely  appointed 
means  of  signifying  and  ratifying  the  engage- 
ment, they  can  no  more  be  neglected  than 
the  public  recognition  of  the  marriage  cove- 
nant. 

It  was  a  fatal  perversion  when  the  Jews 
imagined  that  circumcision  and  sacrifices 
without  faith  and  obedience,  were  effectual 
to  salvation,  and  it  is  no  less  a  fatal  delusion 
to  imagine  that  baptism  and  the  Lord's  sup- 
per without  those  inward  graces  can  secure 
the  favour  of  God.  But  in  avoiding  one  ex- 
treme, we  must  not  run  into  the  opposite. 
Though  the  ancient  sacrifices  without  faith 
27 


314  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

were  an  abomination  to  the  Lord ;  the  sacri- 
fices were  still,  by  divine  appointment,  neces- 
sary;  and  although  the  Christian  ordinances, 
without  the  grace  which  they  represent,  are 
empty  forms,  they  too,  by  divine  appointment, 
are  obligatory,  and,  in  their  place,  essential. 
No  Christian,  however,  needs  to  be  forced 
by  stress  of  authority  to  yield  obedience  to 
the  commands  of  Christ.  It  is  enough  for 
him  that  it  is  the  will  of  his  Saviour  that  the 
truths  and  blessings  of  the  Gospel  should  be 
exhibited  and  commemorated  by  the  perpetu- 
al observance  of  the  ordinances  of  baptism 
and  the  Lord's  supper.  Though  he  were 
unable  to  see  any  fitness  in  such  observance, 
or  though  experience  taught  him  nothing  of 
its  value,  yet  would  he  cheerfully  obey. 
Much  more  may  he  be  expected  to  yield  a 
ready  obedience,  when  he  knows  both  from 
Scripture  and  experience,  that  these  ordinan- 
ces are  made  to  the  believer  the  channels  of 
divine  blessings ;  that  they  are  means  of  grace 
and  sources  of  the  purest  spiritual  enjoy- 
ments ;  that  they  bring  him  into  communion 
with  Christ  and  unite  him  in  holy  fellowship 
with  all  his  brethren.  He  knows  that  to  ne- 
glect these  divine  institutions  is  not  only  to 
violate  a  command  of  God  and  to  break  his 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  315 

covenant ;  it  is  to  refuse  to  be  fed  at  his  table 
and  to  reject  the  provision  which  he  has  made 
for  the  life  of  our  souls. 

If  the  sacraments  are  such  important  means 
of  grace,  and  if  attendance  upon  them  is  a 
duty  so  plainly  enjoined  in  the  word  of  God, 
it  is  important  to  inquire  what  are  the  proper 
qualifications  for  the  acceptable  discharge  of 
this  duty. 

In  considering  this  subject  we  must  not 
confound  the  qualifications  which  the  church 
has  a  right  to  demand  of  those  who  present 
themselves  as  candidates  for  Christian  com- 
munion, with  those  which  such  candidates 
are  bound  to  seek  in  themselves.  The 
church  cannot  judge  the  heart ;  she  can  only 
require  a  credible  profession.  It  is  her  duty 
to  explain  the  nature  of  the  Gospel,  with  its 
promises  and  commands,  and  to  state  clearly 
what  is  the  nature  of  the  service  in  which 
those  engage,  who  profess  to  embrace  the 
offers  of  salvation.  Those  who,  when  thus 
instructed,  declare  that  they  accept  the  offers 
of  divine  mercy,  and  purpose  to  live  in  obe- 
dience to  the  divine  commands,  she  receives 
into  communion,  unless  there  be  some  tangi- 
ble evidence  of  the  insincerity  of  their  pro- 
fessions.    This   she   does,   not  because   she 


316  PROFESSION  OF  RELl^GION. 

judges  them  to  be  true  Christians,  but  be- 
cause they  possess  the  qualifications  which 
alone  she  has  a  right  to  demand.  No  priest 
under  the  old  dispensation  ever  ventured  to 
debar  a  man  from  the  altar,  because  in  his 
own  mind,  he  might  judge  him  to  be  desti- 
tute of  the  faith  and  penitence  implied  in  the 
act  of  presenting  a  sacrifice.  If  the  offerer 
had  the  external  qualifications  prescribed  by 
the  law,  he  was  admitted.  To  Him  who 
searches  the  heart,  it  was  left  to  decide  upon 
his  spiritual  state.  Thus  also,  under  the 
Gospel  dispensation,  we  find  the  apostles 
baptizing  and  admitting  to  the  Lord's  sup- 
per all  who  made  the  requisite  profession, 
and  against  whom  no  visible  evidence  of  in- 
sincerity could  be  produced.  Whatever  was 
considered  a  sufficient  reason  for  excommuni- 
cating a  church  member,  was  of  course  re- 
garded as  sufficient  to  exclude  an  applicant 
for  admission.  It  is  of  importance  to  remem- 
ber that  the  church  does  not  profess  to  decide 
that  all  those  are  true  Christians,  whom  she 
admits  to  her  communion.  Of  their  inward 
sincerity  she  cannot  judge ;  to  their  own  mas- 
ter they  must  stand  or  fall.  Many  are  no 
doubt  confirmed  in  a  false  judgment  of  them- 
selves, because  they  consider  their  admission 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  317 

to  the  church  to  be  an  expression  of  the  judg- 
ment of  their  pastor,  or  brethren,  that  they 
are  what  they  profess  to  be.  It  is  natural  for 
them  to  think  well  of  themselves,  when  they 
consider  experienced  Christians  as  pronounc- 
ing a  favourable  judgment  of  their  spiritual 
state.  But  they  should  remember  that  it  is 
not  the  prerogative  of  the  church  to  judge  the 
heart ;  she  must  receive  all  who  have  the  ex- 
ternal qualifications  which  the  Scriptures  re- 
quire. 

But  though  the  church  is  obliged  to  con- 
fine her  demands  to  a  credible  profession  of 
faith  and  repentance,  it  is  the  duty  of  those 
who  seek  admission  to  her  communion,  to  see 
that  they  have  all  the  qualifications  which 
the  nature  of  the  service  demands.  These 
qualifications  may  all  be  reduced  to  know- 
ledge and  piety. 

Did  the  Scriptures  teach  that  the  sacra- 
ments had  an  inherent  efficacy  of  their  own ; 
that  the  water  of  baptism  had  power  to  wash 
away  sin,  and  the  bread  and  wine  a  virtue  to 
sustain  spiritual  life,  then  indeed  they  might 
be  administered  to  the  ignorant,  the  insensi- 
ble, or  the  dying.  But  if  we  are  taught  that 
the  efficacy  both  of  the  word  and  ordinances 
depends  not  on  them,  nor  on  those  who  ad- 
27^ 


318  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

minister  them,  but  on  the  Holy  Spirit,  reveal- 
ing and  applying  the  truth  thereby  exhibited, 
then  it  is  plain  that  they  must  be  understood 
in  order  to  be  beneficial.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  important  doctrines  of  the  Bible  that 
God  sanctifies  his  people  through  the  truth. 
But  truth  is  not  truth  to  him  who  does  not 
understand  it.  If  you  repeat  to  an  ignorant 
man  a  mathematical  formula,  although  it 
may  contain  a  proposition  of  the  highest 
value,  to  him  it  is  nothing.  It  communi- 
cates no  idea  to  his  mind,  and  can  produce 
no  effect  upon  it.  Or  if  you  tell  him  that 
God  has  set  forth  his  Son  to  be  a  propitiation 
for  our  sins  through  faith  in  his  blood ;  if  he 
does  not  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
words,  it  is  as  though  he  never  heard  them. 
We,  therefore,  do  not  preach  in  an  unknown 
tongue;  nor  do  we  send  Hebrew  Bibles  to  the 
Hindoos,  or  the  Greek  Scriptures  to  the  Hot- 
tentots. Unless  the  truth  is  understood,  it  is 
not  present  to  the  mind,  and  cannot  operate 
upon  it.  In  like  manner,  unless  the  sacra- 
ments are  understood  by  those  who  receive 
them,  they  are,  for  them,  an  unmeaning  cere- 
mony. They  either  exhibit  nothing,  or  they 
excite  erroneous  views  and  apprehensions. 
We  degrade  the  Scriptures  into  formulas  of 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  319 

incantation,  and  the  sacraments  into  magical 
rites,  if  we  suppose  a  knowledge  of  their 
meaning  to  be  unnecessary.  God  is  a  Spirit, 
and  they  who  worship  him  must  worship 
him  in  spirit — intelligently  as  well  as  sin- 
cerely and  inwardly.  It  is,  therefore,  essen- 
tial to  a  proper  attendance  on  the  sacraments 
that  we  should  know  what  they  are  designed 
to  represent,  what  benefits  they  confer  and 
what  obligations  they  impose.  When  they 
are  thus  understood ;  when  the  believer  sees 
in  them  the  clear  exhibition  of  the  truths 
and  promises  of  the  Gospel,  and  knows  that 
they  were  appointed  to  be  the  means  of  his 
confessing  Christ  before  men,  and  to  ratify 
the  gracious  covenant  of  God  with  his  soul, 
he  then  really  receives  the  spiritual  blessings 
of  which  the  sacraments  are  the  outward 
signs. 

The  knowledge  requisite  to  a  proper  un- 
derstanding of  the  sacraments  includes  a 
knowledge  of  all  the  essential  doctrines  of 
the  Gospel.  When  a  man  is  baptized  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  unless  these  sacred  names  re- 
present to  his  mind  some  definite  idea;  un- 
less he  knows  them  to  be  the  names  of  the 
persons   of  the   Godhead,  he   cannot  know 


320  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

what  he  does  in  submitting  to  be  baptized. 
He  does  not  acknowledge  Jehovah ;  nor  does 
he  receive  him  as  his  covenant  God,  Re- 
deemer and  Sanctifier.  As  baptism  is  de- 
signed to  signify  and  seal  our  union  with 
Christ,  and  our  deliverance  through  him 
from  the  guilt  and  dominion  of  sin,  unless 
we  know  ourselves  to  be  sinners,  and  know 
that  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  be  united  to 
Christ,  and  by  his  blood  and  Spirit,  to  be 
pardoned  and  renewed,  the  ordinance  for  us 
loses  all  its  significancy.  Thus  a  knowledge 
of  the  truth  concerning  God,  concerning  sin, 
atonement  and  regeneration  is  essential  to  a 
proper  participation  of  this  ordinance.  And 
as  the  Lord's  supper  is  intended  to  be  a  me- 
morial of  the  death  of  Christ,  unless  we 
know  who  he  was,  why  he  died,  and  what 
benefits  his  death  secures,  we  are  incapable 
of  profitable  joining  in  this  service.  All  the 
aflfections  must  have  an  appropriate  object. 
If  we  love,  we  love  something;  if  we  fear,  we 
fear  something ;  if  we  desire,  we  desire  some- 
thing. There  can  be  neither  faith,  nor  love, 
nor  penitence,  nor  hope,  nor  gratitude,  but 
as  objects  suited  to  these  exercises  are  pre- 
sent to  the  mind ;  and  the  nature  of  these  ex- 
ercises depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  ob- 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  321 

jects  which  call  them  forth.  If  they  are  ex- 
cited by  the  truth,  they  are  right  and  good ; 
and  just  in  proportion  to  the  clearness  with 
which  the  truth  is  spiritually  discerned,  will 
be  the  purity  and  strength  of  the  religious 
emotions.  Knowledge,  therefore,  is  essential 
to  religion. 

We  must  not  suppose,  however,  that  know- 
ledge and  learning  are  synonymous  terms,  or 
that  all  knowledge  is  derived  from  without, 
through  the  medium  of  the  understanding. 
Very  far  from  it.  A  large  part  of  our  know- 
ledge is  derived  from  our  own  consciousness 
or  inward  experience.  The  same  external 
revelation  may  be  presented  to  two  equally 
intelligent  men ;  if  the  one  is  made,  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  to  feel  in  accordance  with  the 
truth,  and  the  other  is  destitute  of  such  feel- 
ings, the  former  will  possess  a  knowledge  of 
which  the  latter  has  no  conception.  He  will 
have  an  insight  into  the  nature  of  the  things 
revealed,  and  into  their  truth  and  value, 
which  is  due  entirely  to  what  passes  within 
his  own  bosom.  These  men,  although  they 
may  be  equal  in  learning,  will  differ  greatly 
in  knowledge.  "We  accordingly  find  that 
the  ignorant,  among  God's  people,  have  often 
far  more  knowledge  of  religious  truth,  than 


322  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

many  learned  men.  They  have  more  cor- 
rect views  of  its  nature ;  and  the  v^ords  by 
v^hich  it  is  expressed  excite  in  their  minds 
far  more  definite  conceptions  of  the  real  ob- 
jects of  the  religious  affections.  As,  how- 
ever, God  does  not  reveal  new  truths,  but 
sanctifies  his  people  by  his  word,  there  must 
be  external  instruction  in  order  to  this  in- 
ward spiritual  knowledge;  hence  ignorance 
of  the  truths  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  as  it 
is  inconsistent  with  the  existence  of  right 
religious  feeling,  or  in  other  words,  with  reli- 
gion itself,  so  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  pro- 
per participation  of  those  ordinances  by  which 
those  truths  are  set  forth  and  confirmed. 

The  other  qualifications  for  an  acceptable 
participation  of  the  sacraments  are  naturally 
suggested  by  the  view  given  of  their  nature. 
As  they  are  the  appointed  means  for  making 
a  public  profession  of  religion,  it  is  of  course 
requisite  that  we  should  be  and  believe  what 
we  therein  profess.  The  substance  of  this 
profession  is  that  we  are  Christians ;  that  we 
believe  in  Christ  as  the  Redeemer  of  sin- 
ners ;  that  we  accept  of  the  terms  of  salva- 
tion proposed  in  the  Gospel,  and  purpose  to 
live  in  obedience  to  its  commands.  If  we 
have  not  this  faith ;  if  we  do  not  thus  pur- 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  323 

pose  to  renounce  our  sins  and  live  unto  God, 
then  do  we  make  a  false  profession,  and  our 
service  must  be  unacceptable  to  God. 

Viewing  the  sacraments  as  seals  of  the  co- 
venant of  grace,  it  is  plain  that  they  require 
the  qualifications  just  mentioned  in  those 
who  receive  them.  That  covenant  relates  to 
deliverance  from  sin.  God  therein  engages 
to  grant  us  salvation ;  and  we  engage  to  ac- 
cept of  his  mercy  on  the  terms  on  which  it  is 
offered.  If  he  promises  to  be  our  God ;  we 
promise  to  be  his  people.  But  how  can  those 
who  love  sin  and  are  determined  not  to  for- 
sake it,  enter  into  this  solemn  engagement 
with  God?  How  can  those  who  have  no 
sense  of  their  need  of  pardon,  no  desire  for 
holiness,  no  sorrow  for  past  transgressions, 
thus  covenant  with  God  for  forgiveness,  sanc- 
tification  and  eternal  life  ? 

With  regard  to  the  Lord's  supper  we  are 
taught  that  it  was  specially  designed  to  be  a 
memorial  of  Christ's  death.  If  we  join  in 
celebrating  his  death,  we  profess  to  believe 
not  only  that  he  died,  but  that  he  was  all 
that  he  claimed  to  be ;  that  his  death  secures 
the  benefits  which  the  Scriptures  attribute 
to  it ;  and  that  we  are  bound  to  aid  in  keep- 
ing this   great   event   in   perpetual   remem- 


324  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

brance.  The  proper  discharge  of  this  duty 
requires  that  we  should  have  a  due  sense  of 
our  obligations  to  Christ  for  having  loved  us 
and  given  himself  for  us.  It  requires  that 
we  should  reverence  and  love  him  in  some 
measure  in  proportion  to  his  excellence  and 
the  value  of  the  blessings  which  we  receive 
from  him.  It  requires  that  we  should  be 
prepared  to  own  him,  who  by  wicked  hands 
was  crucified  and  slain,  as  our  Lord  and  Sa- 
viour, and  as  such  to  obey  and  trust  him. 

In  whatever  light,  therefore,  the  sacra- 
ments are  viewed,  whether  as  the  means  of 
publicly  confessing  Christ,  or  as  signs  and 
seals  of  spiritual  blessings,  or  as  commemora- 
tive of  the  work  of  redemption,  no  man  can 
profitably,  or  acceptably  attend  upon  them, 
without  adequate  knowledge  of  their  nature, 
without  faith  in  the  truths  which  they  re- 
present and  confirm,  or  without  the  peni- 
tence, gratitude  and  love  which  those  truths, 
when  really  believed,  necessarily  produce. 
Where  this  knowledge,  faith  and  love  are 
found,  there  are  the  requisite  qualifications 
for  acceptable  attendance  on  the  sacraments ; 
where  they  are  wanting,  such  attendance 
must  include  false  professions  and  insincere 
promises. 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  325 

We  must  not,  however,  suppose  that  the 
want  of  these  qualifications  frees  us  from  the 
obligation  to  obey  the  command  of  Christ  to 
be  baptized  and  to  commemorate  his  death. 
We  are  certainly  bound  to  worship  God, 
though  destitute  of  the  reverence,  faith  and 
love  which  such  worship  requires ;  and  the 
plea  of  unfitness,  for  the  service  cannot  jus- 
tify us  in  absenting  ourselves  from  the  ordi- 
nances which  Christ  has  appointed.  If  we 
fear  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  a  public 
profession  of  religion,  we  should  remember 
that  we  make  such  profession  every  time  we 
join  in  the  public  worship  of  the  sanctuary. 
If  we  say  we  should  oflfend  God  by  approach- 
ing his  table,  without  due  preparation,  let  us 
remember  that  we  offend  him  every  time  we 
pray,  or  hear  the  gospel  without  faith,  peni- 
tence and  obedience.  It  is  in  vain  to  attempt 
to  introduce  consistency  into  a  half  religious 
life.  If  men  will  renounce  all  claim  to  be  of 
the  number  of  God's  people,  and  reject  his 
service  entirely,  they  may  so  far  be  consis- 
tent. But  they  cannot  choose  one  part  of 
his  service  and  reject  another;  they  cannot 
profess  to  be  penitent  and  believing  by  join- 
ing in  the  worship  of  God,  and  declare  them- 
28 


326  PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION. 

selves  impenitent  and  unbelieving  by  absent- 
ing themselves  from  the  sacraments.  They 
do  not  place  themselves  on  neutral  ground 
by  such  inconsistency.  Their  only  safe  and 
proper  course  is  to  repent  and  believe.  Then 
will  they  be  acceptable  worshippers  and  ac- 
ceptable communicants.  If  they  frequent 
the  temple  of  God  with  a  sincere  desire  to 
do  his  will,  and  seek  his  favour,  let  them, 
in  the  same  state  of  mind,  obey  all  his  com- 
mands. If  they  come  to  the  Lord's  table  to 
please  Christ,  to  obey  his  will,  to  express 
their  gratitude  for  his  death,  let  them  come. 
As  their  day  is,  so  shall  their  strength  be. 

From  the  review  of  this  whole  subject,  it 
is  clear  that  the  public  confession  of  Christ 
is  an  indispensable  condition  of  discipleship ; 
that  this  confession  must  be  made  by  attend- 
ing on  the  ordinances  which  he  has  appoint- 
ed; that  these  ordinances  are  not  only  the 
signs  and  seals  of  spiritual  blessings,  but  are 
made,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  the  believer, 
effectual  means  of  grace;  that  attendance 
upon  them  is,  therefore,  an  indispensable 
duty,  requiring  no  other  qualifications  than 
such  as  are  necessary  for  the  acceptable  wor- 
ship of  God ;  and,  consequently,  that  it  is  in- 


PROFESSION  OF  RELIGION.  327 

cumbent  on  all  those  who  sincerely  desire  to 
serve  and  honour  Christ,  and  to  partake  of 
his  salvation,  to  receive  the  sacraments,  in 
obedience  to  his  will. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


HOLY  LIVING. 


Section  I.  The  nature  of  true  religion. 

»  It  is  natural  that  those  who  have  expe- 
rienced the  agitations  which  frequently  at- 
tend upon  conversion,  and  have  felt  the  peace 
which  flows  from  a  hope  of  acceptance  with 
God,  to  imagine  that  the  conflict  is  over ;  the 
victory  won,  and  the  work  of  religion  accom- 
plished. This  imagination  is  soon  dissipated. 
Birth  is  not  the  whole  of  life ;  neither  is  con- 
version the  whole  of  religion.  A  young 
mother  may,  in  the  fulness  of  her  joy,  forget 
for  a  moment  that  her  vocation  as  a  mother 
is  but  just  begun ;  but  when  she  looks  upon 
her  infant,  so  wonderful  in  its  organization 
and  instinct  with  an  immortal  spirit,  the 
sight  of  its  helplessness  makes  her  feel  how 
great  a  work  she  has  still  to  do.  An  hour's 
neglect  might  prove  the  ruin  of  her  hopes. 
Thus  the  young  Christian,  although  at  first 


HOLY  LIVING.  329 

disposed  to  think  that  his  work  is  finished, 
soon  finds  that  the  feeble  principle  of  spiritual 
life  needs  to  be  watched  and  nourished  with 
ceaseless  care.  If  abandoned  at  its  birth,  it 
must  perish  as  certainly  and  as  speedily  as 
an  exposed  infant. 

Another  mistake  on  this  subject  is  made  by 
those  who  suppose  that  religion  is  a  fitful 
sort  of  life ;  an  alteration  of  excitement  and 
insensibility.  Those  who  labour  under  this 
delusion,  are  religious  only  on  certain  occa- 
sions. They  live  contentedly  for  months  in 
unconcern,  and  then,  if  they  can  be  moved  to 
tenderness  or  joy,  they  are  satisfied  with  the 
prospect  of  another  period  of  collapse.  No 
form  of  life  is  thus  intermittent.  Neither 
plants  nor  animals  thus  live.  Men  do  not, 
when  in  health,  pass  from  convulsions  to 
fainting,  and  from  fainting  to  convulsions; 
nor  does  religion,  when  genuine,  ever  assume 
this  form.  It  has,  indeed,  its  alternations,  as 
there  are  periods  of  health  and  sickness,  of 
vigour  and  lassitude  in  the  animal  frame; 
but  just  so  far  as  it  deserves  the  name  of  reli- 
gion, it  is  steady,  active  and  progressive ;  and 
not  a  series  of  spasms. 

It  is  a  still  more  common  error  to  suppose 
that  religion  is  rather  an  external  than  an  in- 
28^ 


330  HOLY  LIVING. 

ternal  service.  There  are  multitudes  who 
consider  themselves  to  be  religious,  because 
they  attend  upon  religious  services ;  who  sup- 
pose that  a  regular  attendance  upon  public 
worship,  and  the  outward  forms  of  religion  is 
enough  to  entitle  them  to  the  character  of 
Christians. 

The  Scriptures  teach  us  that  religion  is  a 
new,  spiritual  life.  Its  commencement  is, 
therefore,  called  a  new  birth,  a  creation,  a 
spiritual  resurrection.  It  is,  as  to  its  princi- 
ple or  source,  mysterious.  No  man  can  tell 
what  life  is.  He  sees  its  different  forms  in 
vegetables,  animals,  and  in  the  rational  soul ; 
but  he  cannot  detect  the  secret  spring  of 
these  different  kinds  of  activity.  The  nature 
of  spiritual  life  is  not  less  inscrutable.  The 
wind  "bloweth  where  it  listeth ;  ye  hear  the 
sound  thereof,  but  ye  cannot  tell  whence  it 
Cometh,  nor  whither  it  goeth.  So  is  every 
one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit.  A  new  kind 
of  activity  manifests  itself  in  the  soul  that  is 
born  of  God;  but  whence  that  activity 
springs,  and  how  it  is  maintained,  are  among 
the  secret  things  of  God.  We  cannot  doubt, 
however,  that  there  is  some  permanent  cause 
of  those  new  exercises.  We  know  that  the 
life  of  the  body  does  not  consist  in  the  acts  of 


HOLY  LIVING.  331 

seeing,  hearing,  tasting,  &c. ;  nor  does  the 
soul  consist  of  thought  and  volition ;  neither 
does  spiritual  life  consist  in  the  acts  v^hich 
manifest  its  existence.  There  is  in  regenera- 
tion a  change  effected  in  the  state  of  the  soul 
M^hich  accounts  for  its  perceptions,  purposes 
and  feelings  being  different  from  w^hat  they 
were  before,  and  for  their  so  continuing. 
The  cause  of  this  difference  is  sometimes 
called  a  new  heart,  or  grace,  or  the  spirit,  or 
the  new  man,  or  the  renewal  of  the  inner 
man.  All  these  terms  are  used  to  designate 
the  principle  of  spiritual  life,  which  manifests 
itself  in  the  fruits  of  holiness.  It  is  called 
life  because  it  is  thus  permanent,  or  abiding. 
Those  who  for  a  time  manifest  a  degree  of 
ardour  and  activity  in  relation  to  religion  and 
then  lose  all  interest  in  the  subject,  are  like 
dead  bodies  on  which  electricity  may  for  a 
while  produce  some  of  the  appearances  of 
animation,  but  which  soon  become  insensible 
to  all  means  of  excitement.  In  such  cases 
there  is  no  principle  of  life.  Where  religion 
is  genuine,  it  has  its  root  in  a  new  heart,  and 
is,  therefore,  permanent. 

It  is,  moreover,  characteristic  of  the  life  of 
sentient  and  rational  creatures,  to  be  sponta- 
neous in  its  exercises.     There  are  certain  acts 


332  HOLY  LIVING. 

to  which  it  prompts  and  in  which  it  delights. 
It  is  not  by  constraint  that  animals  eat,  or 
drink,  or  sport  in  the  consciousness  of 
strength;  neither  is  it  by  compulsion  that 
men  exercise  their  minds  in  the  reception 
and  communication  of  ideas  and  the  recipro- 
cation of  feeling.  To  be  so  isolated  from 
their  fellow-beings  as  to  be  prevented  from 
giving  vent  to  the  force  of  intellectual  and 
social  life,  is  the  severest  of  all  condemna- 
tions. In  like  manner  reverence,  gratitude, 
love,  submission,  are  the  spontaneous  exer- 
cises of  the  renewed  heart.  They  are  the 
free,  unbidden,  unconstrained  effusions  of  the 
soul.  That  religion  which  is  reluctant,  or 
forced,  whether  by  fear  or  stress  of  con- 
science, is  spurious.  Filial  obedience,  if  ren- 
dered from  a  dread  of  punishment,  or  from 
mere  regard  to  appearances,  is  very  different 
from  that  which  flows  from  respect  and  love ; 
and  unless  the  service  which  we  render  to 
God  flows  unbidden  from  the  heart,  it  is  no 
evidence  that  we  are  his  children.  The  Bible 
represents  the  people  of  God  as  delighting  in 
the  things  of  God.  His  word,  his  ordinances, 
his  sanctuary,  his  presence  are  their  chief 
joy.  When  a  man  is  ill,  he  takes  little  plea- 
sure in  the  ordinary  sources  of  enjoyment, 


HOLY  LIVING.  333 

and  when  the  Christian  is  in  a  declining 
state,  he  knows  little  of  the  joy  which  belongs 
to  religion.  Still  whatever  there  is  of  spirit- 
ual life  in  any  soul,  will  manifest  itself  in 
spontaneous  exercises  of  piety. 

Again,  life,  in  all  the  forms  in  which  we 
are  acquainted  with  it,  is  progressive ;  feeble 
at  the  beginning,  it  advances  gradually  to 
maturity.  It  is  thus  in  plants,  in  animals, 
and  in  the  rational  soul ;  and  it  is  thus  also  in 
the  spiritual  life.  There  is  a  joy  which  at- 
tends the  beginning  of  a  religious  life,  which 
very  often  declines;  a  fact  which  may  lead 
even  the  true  Christian  to  think  that  religion 
itself  is  declining  in  his  heart.  Such  joy, 
however,  is  a  very  uncertain  criterion  of  the 
progress  or  decline  of  the  spiritual  life.  The 
gambols  of  young  animals  show  an  exube- 
rance of  joy,  which  those  that  have  reached 
maturity  no  longer  experience.  But  how  im- 
perfect is  the  organization  of  these  playful 
creatures,  how  small  is  their  power  of  endu- 
rance, how  little  their  serviceable  strength, 
in  comparison  with  that  of  those  who  know 
not  half  their  joys.  It  is  not  unnatural, 
therefore,  that  young  Christians  should  feel  a 
glow  of  happiness  from  the  exercise  of  feel- 
ings, delightful  from  their  novelty  as  well  as 


334  HOLY  LIVING. 

from  their  nature,  which  those  more  advanced 
may  have  ceased  to  experience,  in  whom  feel- 
ing has  ripened  into  principle,  and  mere  joy- 
ful emotions  settled  into  a  peace  which  passes 
all  understanding. 

Though  joy  is  not  the  proper  criterion  of 
progress  in  the  divine  life,  it  is  as  essential  to 
its  nature  to  be  progressive,  as  it  is  to  the  life 
of  the  body  to  increase  in  stature  as  it  advan- 
ces from  childhood  to  maturity,  or  to  that  of 
the  mind  to  gather  strength  in  its  progress 
from  infancy  to  manhood.  A  man  with  the 
mind  of  an  infant  is  an  idiot ;  he  is  destitute 
of  what  belongs  to  a  rational  being.  And  a 
Christian,  who  makes  no  progress  in  holiness, 
must  be  essentially  defective.  The  surest 
evidence  of  such  progress  is  increase  of 
strength ;  strength  of  faith ;  strength  of  pur- 
pose; strength  of  principle;  strength  to  do 
right,  to  resist  evil,  and  to  endure  suffering. 
The  people  of  God  go  from  strength  to 
strength,  perfecting  holiness  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord. 

True  religion,  then,  is  not  an  external  ser- 
vice ;  nor  is  it  a  mere  excitement  of  fear  and 
sorrow  succeeded  by  peace  and  joy ;  nor  is  it 
a  fitful  alternation  of  such  exercises.  It  is  a 
permanent  principle  of  action,  spontaneous  in 


HOLY  LIVING.  335 

its  exercises  and  progressive  in  its  nature. 
These  attributes  are  essential  to  its  genuine- 
ness, but  they  do  not  constitute  its  vrhole 
character.  It  is  a  participation  of  the  divine 
nature,^  or  the  conformity  of  the  soul  to  God. 
It  is  described  as  the  putting  off  the  old  man 
with  his  deeds  and  putting  on  the  nev^  man, 
which  is  renewed  in  knowledge  after  the 
image  of  him  that  created  him;t  or  a  being 
renewed  in  the  spirit  of  our  mind,  that  we 
may  put  on  the  new  man,  which  after  God 
is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness.  J 
These  two  passages  express  the  same  truth. 
To  be  renewed  in  knowledge,  or  rather,  unto 
knowledge,  means  to  be  renewed  so  as  to 
know;  and  knowledge  includes  the  percep- 
tion, recognition  and  approbation  of  what  is 
true  and  good.  This  comprehensive  sense 
of  the  word  is  not  unusual  in  the  Scriptures ; 
and  hence  it  is  said,  that  to  know  God  and 
Jesus  Christ  is  eternal  life.  Such  knowledge 
is  the  life  of  the  soul ;  it  is  conformity  to  God 
in  the  perception  and  approbation  of  truth. 
No  higher  conception  of  moral  excellence  can 
be  formed  than  that  which  resolves  it  into  the 
harmony  of  the  soul  with  God  in  judgment 
and  will.  This  is  what  in  the  parallel  pas- 
*  2  Pet.  i.  4.  t  Col.  iii.  10.  I  Eph.  iv.  24. 


336  HOLY  LIVING. 

sage,  the  apostle  calls  righteousness  and  holi- 
ness of  truth,  (that  is,  founded  upon,  or  aris- 
ing from  truth.)  The  same  idea  of  sanctifi- 
cation  is  presented  in  Rom.  xii.  2,  when  it  is 
said.  Be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of 
your  mind,  that  ye  may  prove  (or,  approve) 
what  is  that  good,  and  acceptable  and  perfect 
will  of  God.  This  is  true  religion,  to  approve 
what  God  approves,  to  hate  what  he  hates, 
and  to  delight  in  what  delights  him. 

It  is  obvious  from  this  representation  that 
the  whole  man  is  the  subject  of  this  change. 
There  are  new  perceptions,  new  purposes 
and  new  feelings.  The  mind  becomes  more 
and  more  enlightened,  the  will  more  submis- 
sive to  the  rule  of  right,  and  the  affections 
more  thoroughly  purified.  The  apostle  in 
his  epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  says.  The 
God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly ;  and  I  pray 
God  your  whole  spirit  and  soul  and  body  be 
preserved  blameless  unto  the  coming  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.^  The  body  is  the  sub- 
ject of  sanctification  in  various  ways.  It  is 
the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,!  and  is,  there- 
fore, holy  as  consecrated  to  the  service,  and 
hallowed  by  the  presence  of  God.  Our 
bodies  are  also  members  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
*  1  Thess.  V.  23.  f  1  Cor.  vi.  19. 


HOLY  LIVING.  337 

in  virtue  of  this  union,  they  partake  of  the 
benefits  of  redemption,  and  are  hereafter  to 
be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body. 
And  still  further,  the  influence  of  the  body 
upon  the  soul  is  so  manifold,  for  good  or  evil, 
and,  in  our  fallen  state,  so  predominantly  for 
evil,  that  no  small  part  of  the  work  of  sancti- 
fication  consists  in  counteracting  that  influ- 
ence. Paul  says  of  himself,  I  keep  under  my 
body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection ;  lest  that  by 
any  means,  when  I  have  preached  to  others, 
I  myself  should  be  a  castaway.^  And  he 
declares  it  to  be  one  of  the  conditions  of  life, 
that  believers  should,  through  the  Spirit, 
mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body.f  The  body, 
therefore,  is  sanctified  not  only  by  redeeming 
it  from  the  service  of  sin  and  consecrating  it 
to  the  service  of  God,  but  also  by  restraining 
its  power  over  the  soul,  making  it  temperate 
in  its  demands  and  submissive  to  the  will  of 
the  renewed  man. 

As  the  work  of  sanctification  extends  to  all 
our  faculties,  so  the  image  of  God,  which  it 
is  designed  to  impress  upon  the  soul,  includes 
all  moral  excellence.  The  different  graces, 
such  as  love,  faith,  meekness,  kindness,  &c., 
are  but  different  manifestations  of  one  and  the 

^  1  Cor.  ix.  27.  t  Rom.  viii.  13. 

29 


338  HOLY  LIVING. 

same  principle  of  goodness.  Not  that  justice 
and  benevolence  are  the  same  sentiment  or 
disposition,  for  they  are  distinct;  but  the 
same  principle  which  makes  a  man  just,  will 
make  him  benevolent.  Religion,  or  the  prin- 
ciple of  divine  life,  prompts  to  all  kinds  of 
excellence ;  and,  in  itself,  as  much  to  one  as 
to  another;  just  as  the  principle  of  life,  in 
plants  and  animals  and  in  the  rational  soul, 
leads  to  a  harmonious  development  of  the 
whole  in  all  its  parts.  The  root  increases  as 
the  branches  enlarge ;  the  body  grows  as  the 
several  members  increase  in  size ;  and  judg- 
ment and  memory  gain  strength  as  the  other 
powers  of  the  mind  increase  in  vigour. 
Every  thing  depends  upon  this  harmonious 
progress.  If  the  arms  retained  their  infantile 
proportions,  while  the  rest  of  the  body  ad- 
vanced to  maturity,  deformity  and  helpless- 
ness would  be  the  result.  Or  if  judgment 
and  feeling  gained  their  full  force,  while 
memory  and  conscience  remained  as  in  infan- 
cy, the  mind  w^ould  be  completely  deranged. 
The  same  law  of  symmetrical  development  is 
impressed  upon  the  life  of  the  soul.  If  it 
exists  at  all,  it  manifests  itself  in  all  the  forms 
of  goodness.  There  may  be  some  kinds  of 
excellence,  where  others  are  absent;  but  then 


HOLY  LIVING.  339 

such  excellence  has  not  its  source  in  the 
divine  life;  or  in  a  new  heart;  for  that,  in  its 
very  nature,  includes  all  moral  excellence. 
We  feel  it  to  be  a  contradiction  to  say  that  he 
is  a  good  man,  who,  though  just,  is  unkind ; 
because  goodness  includes  both  justice  and 
benevolence.  And  it  is  no  less  a  contradic- 
tion to  say  that  a  man  is  religious  who  is  not 
honest,  because  religion  includes  honesty  as 
well  as  piety.  It  is  not  simply  intended  that 
the  word  religion  comprehends  and  expresses 
all  forms  of  moral  excellence,  but  that  the 
thing  meant  by  religion,  or  the  new  man,  the 
principle  of  grace  or  of  divine  life  in  the 
heart,  includes  within  itself  all  kinds  of  good- 
ness. Reverence,  love,  submission,  justice, 
benevolence,  are  but  different  exercises  of  one 
and  the  same  principle  of  holiness.  There 
can  be  no  holiness  without  benevolence,  none 
without  reverence,  none  without  justice.  The 
man,  therefore,  who  is  renewed  in  the  spirit 
of  his  mind  after  the  image  of  God,  is  one 
who  has  that  moral  excellence  which  ex- 
presses itself,  according  to  its  different  objects 
and  occasions,  in  all  the  various  graces  of  the 
Spirit. 

The  Scriptures  give  especial  prominence 
to  the  love  of  God  as  the  most  comprehensive 


340  taOLY  LIVING. 

and  important  of  all  the  manifestations  of 
this  inward  spiritual  life.  We  are  so  consti- 
tuted as  to  take  delight  in  objects  suited  to 
our  nature;  and  the  perception  of  qualities 
adapted  to  our  constitution,  in  external  ob- 
jects, produces  complacency  and  desire.  The 
soul  rests  in  them  as  a  good  to  be  loved  for 
its  own  sake ;  and  the  higher  these  qualities, 
the  more  pure  and  elevated  are  the  affections 
which  they  excite.  It  is  the  effect  of  regene- 
ration to  enable  us  to  perceive  and  love  the 
infinite  and  absolute  perfection  of  God,  as 
comprehending  all  kinds  of  excellence,  and 
as  suited  to  the  highest  powers  and  most  en- 
larged capacities  of  our  nature.  As  soon, 
therefore,  as  the  heart  is  renewed  it  turns  to 
God,  and  rests  in  his  excellence  as  the  su- 
preme object  of  complacency  and  desire. 

Love  to  God,  however,  is  not  mere  compla- 
cency in  moral  excellence.  It  is  the  love  of 
a  personal  being,  who  stands  in  the  most  in- 
timate relations  to  ourselves,  as  the  author  of 
our  existence,  as  our  preserver  and  ruler,  as 
our  father,  who  with  conscious  love  watches 
over  us,  protects  us,  supplies  all  our  wants, 
holds  communion  with  us,  manifesting  him- 
self unto  us  as  he  does  not  unto  the  world. 
The  feelings  of  dependence,  obligation  and 


HOLY  LIVING.  34l 

relationship,  enter  largely  into  that  compre- 
hensive affection  called  the  love  of  God. 
This  affection  is  still  further  modified  by  the 
apprehension  of  the  infinite  wisdom  and  pow- 
er of  its  object.  These  attributes  are  the  pro- 
per object  of  admiration;  and,  when  infinite 
in  degree  and  united  with  infinite  goodness, 
they  excite  that  wonder,  admiration,  reve- 
rence and  complacency  which  constitute  ado- 
ration, and  w^hich  find  in  prostration  and  wor- 
ship their  only  adequate  expression.  There 
is  no  attribute  of  religion  more  essential  to  its 
nature  than  this  reverence  for  God.  When- 
ever heaven  has  been  opened  to  the  view  of 
men,  its  inhabitants  have  been  seen  with  their 
faces  veiled  and  bowing  before  the  throne 
of  God.  And  all  acceptable  worship  upon 
earth,  proceeds  from  the  humble  and  contrite 
who  tremble  at  his  word. 

The  exercise  of  these  feelings  of  reverence 
and  love  is  either,  (so  to  speak,)  casual,  as  the 
thoughts  of  God  pass  and  repass  through  the 
soul  during  the  busy  hours  of  the  day ;  or  it  is 
more  prolonged,  when  the  soul  withdraws 
from  the  world,  and  sets  itself  in  the  presence 
of  God,  to  adore  his  excellence,  to  thank  him 
for  his  goodness,  and  to  supplicate  his  bless- 
ing. The  spirit  of  devotion  which  so  pre- 
29* 


342  HOLY  LIVING. 

eminently  distinguished  the  Redeemer,  dwells 
in  all  his  people.  They  are  all  devout;  they 
all  w^alk  w^ith  God ;  they  all  feel  him  to  be 
near  and  rejoice  in  his  presence ;  and  they  all 
have  communion  with  him  in  acts  of  private 
and  public  worship.  There  is  no  religion 
without  this  intercourse  of  the  soul  with  God, 
as  there  is  no  life  without  warmth  and  motion 
in  the  body.  And  as  the  body  rapidly  decays 
when  dead ;  so  the  soul  perishes  when  not  in 
communion  with  God. 

This  love  of  God  will  manifest  itself  in 
submission  and  obedience.  The  former  is  an 
humble  acquiescence  in  the  will  of  God,  in- 
cluding the  perception  and  acknowledgment 
that  the  commands  of  God  concerniug  all 
things  are  right,  and  that  his  dispensations 
are  all  wise,  merciful  and  just.  Even  when 
clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  him, 
religion  forces  upon  us  the  conviction  that 
justice  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his 
throne.  The  renewed  soul,  filled  with  the 
assurance  of  the  wisdom,  power  and  goodness 
of  God,  resigns  itself  into  his  hands,  saying. 
Thy  will  be  done.  When  under  the  influ- 
ence of  this  spirit,  it  is  free  from  the  discon- 
tent and  misgivings  which  destroy  the  peace 
and  aggravate  the  guilt  of  those  who  have  no 


HOLY  LIVING.  343 

such  confidence  that  the  judge  of  all  the  earth 
will  do  right. 

Love  to  God  must  produce  obedience,  be- 
cause it  supposes  a  conformity  of  the  soul  to 
God  in  the  perception  and  love  of  what  is 
true  and  right ;  and  obedience  is  only  the  ex- 
pression or  outward  manifestation  of  this  con- 
formity ;  just  as  disobedience  is  the  evidence 
of  a  contrariety  between  our  will  and  the  will 
of  God.  Wherever  there  is  reconciliation  to 
God,  or  the  restoration  of  the  divine  image, 
there  must  be  conformity  of  heart  and  life  to 
the  will  of  God.  It  is  a  contradiction  to  say 
that  a  man  is  like  God,  or  is  a  partaker  of  his 
nature,  who  does  not  love  what  God  loves, 
and  avoid  what  he  hates.  Obedience  is  but 
love  in  action.  It  is  but  the  voice,  and  look, 
and  carriage  which  affection,  of  necessity,  as- 
sumes. For  the  love  of  God  is  not,  as  already 
said,  mere  love  to  excellence;  it  is  the  love 
of  a  heavenly  Father ;  and,  therefore,  it  secures 
obedience,  not  only  because  it  supposes  a  con- 
geniality of  mind,  if  we  may  so  speak,  between 
the  people  of  God  and  God  himself,  but  also 
because  it  is  his  will  that  we  should  be  obe- 
dient ;  it  is  what  is  pleasing  to  him ;  and  love 
is  no  longer  love  if  it  does  not  lead  to  the  pur- 
pose and  endeavour  to  give  pleasure  to  its  ob- 


344  HOLY  LIVING. 

ject.  He  that  hath  my  commandments  and 
keepeth  them,  said  our  Saviour,  he  it  is  that 
loveth  me.  Obedience  is  not  so  much  the  evi- 
dence of  love,  as  it  is  love  itself  made  visible,  or 
expressed.  The  habitual  tenor  of  a  man's  life 
gives  a  more  faithful  exhibition  of  his  state  of 
heart,  than  any  occasional  ebullition  of  feel- 
ing, or  any  mere  verbal  professions;  and 
where  the  tenor  of  the  life  is  not  in  conform- 
ity with  the  will  of  God,  there  the  heart  must 
be  in  opposition  to  that  will ;  and  on  the  other 
hand,  wherever  there  is  love,  there  must  be 
obedience. 

It  would  be  out  of  analogy  with  the  order 
of  things  as  established  by  God,  if  the  exer- 
cises of  the  spiritual  life  were  not  attended  by 
peace  and  joy.  Happiness  is  so  intimately 
associated  with  these  exercises  that  the  apos- 
tle says.  To  be  spiritually  minded  is  life  and 
peace.  Excellence  and  enjoyment  are  blend- 
ed in  inseparable  union ;  so  that  all  right  emo- 
tions and  affections  are  pleasurable.  And  this 
pleasure  is,  in  kind  if  not  in  degree,  proportion- 
able to  the  dignity  of  the  powers  from  whose 
exercise  they  flow.  The  senses  afford  the 
lowest  kind  of  happiness ;  then,  in  an  ascend- 
ing scale,  the  social  afi^ections ;  then  the  intel- 
lectual powers ;  then  the  moral  emotions,  and 


HOLY  LIVING.  345 

then  the  religious  aflfections.  The  kind  of 
enjoyment  which  attend  these  latter  is  felt  to 
be  more  pure  and  elevated,  more  satisfying 
and  better  suited  to  our  nature,  than  that 
which  flows  from  any  other  source.  Hence 
the  Scriptures  ascribe  to  communion  with 
God  a  joy  that  is  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory,  and  a  peace  which  passes  all  under- 
standing. Joy,  therefore,  is  one  of  the  fruits 
of  the  Spirit ;  it  is  one  of  the  accompaniments 
and  evidences  of  spiritual  life ;  it  is  a  health- 
ful affusion ;  it  is  the  oil  of  gladness,  which 
the  Spirit  pours  over  the  renewed  soul,  to  in- 
vigorate its  exercises,  to  brighten  its  visage, 
and  to  make  it  active  in  the  service  and 
praise  of  God. 

As  the  image  of  God,  after  which  the  soul 
is  renewed,  consists  in  moral  excellence,  and 
as  moral  excellence  means  that  state  of  mind, 
which  causes  a  man  to  feel  and  act  right 
under  all  circumstances,  it  is  impossible  that 
those  who  have  correct  views  and  feelings  in 
regard  to  God,  should  not  feel  and  act  correct- 
ly in  regard  to  their  fellow-men.  Those 
whom  the  Bible  designates  as  good  men  are 
benevolent  and  just  no  less  than  devout. 
The  comprehensive  statement  of  our  duty  to- 
wards our  fellow-men,  is  found  in  the  com- 


346  .        HOLY  LIVING. 

mand,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thy- 
self. The  love  here  intended  is  that  disposi- 
tion which  leads  us  to  regard  our  neighbour 
with  respect  and  kindness,  and  to  seek  to  do 
him  good.  This  love  is  long-sujfFering  and 
kind ;  it  does  not  envy  the  happiness  of  others 
but  rejoices  in  their  welfare.  It  is  not  proud, 
nor  does  it  behave  i|;self  unseemly.  It  seek- 
eth  not  its  own.  It  rejoices  not  in  iniquity, 
but  rejoices  in  the  truth.  It  beareth  all 
things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things. 
Without  this  love,  all  professions  of  piety,  all 
gifts,  all  outward  acts  of  self-denial  or  charity, 
are  worthless.  It  belongs  essentially  to  the 
Christian  character ;  for  as  self-love,  prompt- 
ing us  to  the  pursuit  of  our  own  happiness, 
belongs  to  our  nature  as  men,  so  benevolence, 
prompting  us  to  seek  the  happiness  of  others, 
belongs  to  the  nature  of  the  new  man.  A 
new  man  means  a  good  man,  one  who  is  like 
God,  holy,  just,  benevolent  and  merciful. 

This  meek,  kind,  trustful  temper,  which 
religion  never  fails  to  produce,  is,  of  course, 
variously  modified  by  the  various  characters 
of  individuals,  and  by  the  relations  of  life. 
It  is  no  part  of  the  teaching  of  the  Bible  that 
we  must  regard  all  men  with  the  same  feel- 
ings.    While   it   inculcates  benevolence   to- 


HOLY  LIVING.  347' 

wards  all  men,  it  makes  provision  for  the  pe- 
culiar and  closer  relations  in  which  men 
stand  to  each  other,  as  members  of  one  fami- 
ly, or  one  society.  And  the  same  principle 
of  religion  which  produces  this  general  be- 
nevolence, secures  the  exercise  of  all  the  af- 
fections which  belong  to  the  various  relations 
of  life.  It  causes  us  to  render  obedience  to 
whom  obedience  is  due,  fear  to  whom  fear, 
honour  to  whom  honour.  It  makes  men  in 
their  intercourse  with  their  equals  respectful, 
considerate  and  amiable  ;  in  their  conduct  to 
their  inferiors  condescending,  just  and  kind. 

It  cannot  be  too  well  considered  that  these 
social  virtues  are  essential  to  true  religion. 
The  people  of  God  are  those  who  are  like 
God ;  but  God,  as  we  have  seen,  is  just,  mer- 
ciful, long-suffering,  abundant  in  goodness 
and  truth.  Those,  therefore,  who  are  dis- 
honest, unkind,  proud,  revengeful,  or  deceit- 
ful, are  not  his  people  ;  they  do  not  bear  the 
heavenly  image,  and  have  never  been  renew- 
ed in  the  spirit  of  their  minds.  Let  no  man 
deceive  himself  with  the  hope  that  though  a 
bad  parent,  child,  or  neighbour,  he  may  be  a 
good  Christian.     A  Christian  is  like  Christ. 

Another  form  in  which  a  renewed  heart 
cannot  fail  to  manifest  itself  is  in  self-denial. 


348  HOLY  LIVING. 

If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  said  the  Sa- 
viour, let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his 
cross  and  follov^  me.  The  necessity  of  self- 
denial  arises  partly  from  the  fact  that  the 
gratification  of  our  own  wishes  is  often  incon- 
sistent with  the  good  of  others;  and  partly 
from  the  fact  that  so  many  of  our  desires  and 
passions  are  inordinate  or  evil.  The  rule 
prescribed  by  the  gospel  is,  that  we  are  not 
to  please  ourselves,  but  every  one  must  please 
his  neighbour,  for  good  to  edification,  even  as 
Christ  pleased  not  himself,  but  though  he 
was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  he  became  poor, 
that  we,  through  his  poverty,  might  be  rich. 
The  daily  intercourse  of  life  furnishes  con- 
stant occasion  for  the  exercises  of  this  kind  of 
self-denial.  He  who  has  the  same  mind  that 
was  in  Christ,  instead  of  being  selfish,  is 
ready  to  defer  his  own  advantage  to  that  of 
others,  to  give  up  his  own  gratification,  and 
even  his  own  rights  for  the  good  of  others. 
If  meat  causes  his  brother  to  offend,  he  will 
not  eat  meat  while  the  world  lasts.  To  the 
Jews,  he  becomes  as  a  Jew,  that  he  may  gain 
the  Jews.  To  the  weak,  he  becomes  as 
weak,  that  he  may  gain  the  weak.  He  does 
not  live  for  himself.  His  own  interest  is  not 
the  main  end  of  his  pursuit.     As  a  disinter- 


HOLY  LIVING.  349 

ested  regard  for  the  good  of  others  pre-emi- 
nently distinguished  the  Redeemer,  it  char- 
acterizes all  his  followers ;  for  God  has  pre- 
destinated them  to  be  conformed  to  the  image 
of  his  Son. 

The  call  for  self-denial  arising  from  the 
corruption  of  our  nature,  is  still  more  fre- 
quent. In  consequence  of  the  fall,  the  senses 
have  attained  an  undue  influence  over  the 
soul;  they  are  incessant  in  their  demands, 
and  become  more  importunate  the  more  they 
are  indulged.  It  is  inconsistent  with  reason 
to  yield  ourselves  to  the  power  of  these  lower 
principles  of  our  nature;  for  reason  itself 
teaches  us  that  if  a  man  is  governed  by  his 
body,  he  is  the  servant  of  a  slave.  But  if 
even  a  rational  man  feels  bound  to  subject 
the  body  to  the  mind,  the  religious  man  can- 
not be  sensual.  They  that  are  Christians 
have  mortified  the  flesh  with  its  affections 
and  lusts ;  they  keep  their  bodies  in  subjec- 
tion. 

What  belongs  to  the  body  is,  in  a  certain 
sense,  external ;  the  evil  dispositions  of  the 
heart  are  in  more  intimate  connection  with 
the  soul.  Pride,  vanity,  envy,  malice,  the 
love  of  self  are  more  formidable  foes  than 
mere  bodily  appetites.  They  are  stronger, 
30 


350  HOLY  LIVING. 

more  enduring,  and  more  capable  of  deceit. 
As  these  dispositions  are  deeply  seated  in  onr 
nature,  the  putting  off  the  old  man,  which  is 
corrupt,  or  the  destruction  of  these  unholy 
principles,  is  the  most  difficult  of  all  Christian 
duties,  and  renders  the  believer's  life  a  per- 
petual conflict.  The  flesh  lusteth  against 
the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh,  so 
that  he  cannot  do  the  things  that  he  would. 
In  this  conflict,  however,  the  better  principle 
is  habitually,  though  not  uniformly,  victori- 
ous ;  for  the  children  of  God  walk  not  after 
the  flesh,  but  after  the  spirit. 

It  appears,  then,  even  from  this  short  sur- 
vey, that  true  Christians  are  renewed  after 
the  image  of  God  so  as  to  be  holy ;  they  love 
God,  they  rest  with  complacency  on  his  per- 
fections, they  acquiesce  in  his  will,  and  re- 
joice in  their  relation  to  him  as  his  creatures 
and  children.  They  are  habitually  devout 
and  have  fellowship  with  the  Father  of  their 
spirits  and  with  Jesus  Christ  his  Son.  They 
are  obedient  children,  not  fashioning  them- 
selves according  to  their  former  lusts,  but  as 
he  that  called  them  is  holy,  so  are  they  holy 
in  all  manner  of  conversation.  As  they  bear 
the  image  of  a  just  and  merciful  God,  they 
are  honest  and  benevolent  towards  their  feU 


HOLY  LIVING.  361 

low-men,  not  seeking  their  own,  but  the  good 
of  others.  And  as  this  victory  over  them- 
selves and  this  conformity  to  the  image  of 
God  cannot  be  obtained  without  conflict  and 
self-denial,  they  keep  up  a  constant  opposi- 
tion to  the  more  subtle  evils  of  the  heart. 

Some  may  be  ready  to  say,  that  if  this  is 
religion,  then  no  man  is  religious.  It  is  cer- 
tainly true  that  many  are  called,  and  few 
chosen.  Strait  is  the  gate  and  narrow  is  the 
way,  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there 
be  that  find  it.  We  must  take  our  idea  of 
religion  from  the  Bible,  and  not  from  the 
lives  of  professors.  It  cannot  be  denied  that 
the  Bible  makes  religion  to  consist  in  love  to 
God  and  man ;  nor  can  it  be  questioned  that 
the  love  of  God  will  manifest  itself  in  reve- 
rence, devotion  and  obedience,  and  the  love 
of  men  in  benevolence  and  justice.  And  our 
own  conscience  tells  us  that  no  external 
forms,  no  outward  professions,  no  assiduity 
in  religious  services,  can  entitle  us  to  the 
character  of  Christians,  unless  we  are  thus 
devout  and  obedient  towards  God,  thus  just 
and  benevolent  towards  our  fellow-men,  and 
thus  pure  and  self-denying  as  regards  our- 
selves. But  while  it  is  certain  that  these 
traits  are  all  essential  to  the  Christian  cha- 


352  HOLY  LIVIl^G. 

racter,  it  is  not  asserted  that  all  Christians 
are  alike.  There  is  as  great  diversity  in 
their  characters  as  Christians,  as  in  their 
bodily  appearance,  their  mental  powers,  or 
social  dispositions.  But  as  all  men,  in  the 
midst  of  this  endless  variety,  have  the  same 
features,  the  same  mental  faculties,  and  the 
same  social  affections,  so  all  Christians,  how- 
ever they  may  differ  in  the  strength  or  com- 
bination of  the  Christian  graces,  are  all  led 
by  the  Spirit,  and  all  produce  the  fruits  of 
the  Spirit. 

Having  given  this  brief  outline  of  the  na- 
ture of  true  religion,  it  is  proper  \o  say  a  few 
words  as  to  its  necessity.  It  should  be  ever 
borne  in  mind  that  the  necessity  of  holiness 
is  absolute.  With  regard  to  other  things, 
some,  though  desirable,  are  not  essential,  and 
others,  though  essential  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, are  not  universally  and  absolute- 
ly necessary.  But  holiness  is  necessary  in 
such  a  sense  that  salvation,  without  it,  is  im- 
possible, because  salvation  principally  con- 
sists in  this  very  transformation  of  the  heart. 
Jesus  is  a  Saviour,  because  he  saves  his  peo- 
ple from  their  sins.  Those,  therefore,  who  are 
not  sanctified,  are  not  saved.  The  doctrine 
that  a  man  may  live  in  sin,  and  still  be  in  a 


HOLY  LIVING.  353 

state  of  salvation,  is  as  much  a  contradiction, 
as  to  say  that  a  man  may  be  ill,  when  in 
health.  A  state  of  salvation  is  a  state  of  holi- 
ness. The  two  things  are  inseparable;  be- 
cause salvation  is  not  mere  redemption  from 
the  penalty  of  sin,  but  deliverance  from  its 
power.  It  is  freedom  from  bondage  to  the 
appetites  of  the  body  and  the  evil  passions  of 
the  heart ;  it  is  an  introduction  into  the  favour 
and  fellowship  of  God ;  the  restoration  of  the 
divine  image  to  the  soul,  so  that  it  loves  God 
and  delights  in  his  service.  Salvation,  there- 
fore, is  always  begun  on  earth.  Verily,  veri- 
ly, I  say  unto  you,  he  that  believeth  on  me 
hath  eternal  life.  This  is  the  language  of 
our  Saviour.  To  be  spiritually  minded  is 
life;  to  be  carnally  minded  is  death.  There 
is  no  delusion  more  inexcusable,  because  none 
is  more  directly  opposed  to  every  doctrine  of 
the  Bible,  than  the  idea  that  a  state  of  grace 
is  consistent  with  a  life  of  sin.  Without  holi- 
ness no  man  can  see  God.  Whatever  our 
ecclesiastical  connexions  may  be,  whatever 
our  privileges  or  professions,  if  we  are  not 
holy  in  heart  and  life ;  if  we  are  not  habitu- 
ally governed  by  a  regard  to  the  will  of  God ; 
if  we  do  not  delight  in  communion  with  him, 
and  desire  conformity  to  his  image ;  if  we  are 
30*- 


354  HOLY  LIVING. 

not  led  by  the  Spirit  and  do  not  exhibit  the 
love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness, 
goodness,  faith,  meekness  and  temperance 
which  that  Spirit  always  produces — then  we 
are  not  religious  men,  nor  are  we  in  a  state 
of  salvation. 

The  Bible  knows  nothing  of  proud,  selfish, 
covetous,  impure  Christians.  Christians  are 
partakers  of  a  holy  calling,  they  are  washed, 
and  sanctified  and  justified  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God ; 
they  are  saints,  the  sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus ; 
they  mind  spiritual  things ;  they  have  cruci- 
fied the  flesh  with  its  affections  and  lusts ; 
they  are  poor  in  spirit,  meek,  pure  in  heart, 
merciful ;  they  hunger  and  thirst  after  righte- 
ousness. Not  that  they  have  already  appre- 
hended, or  are  already  perfect ;  but  they  fol- 
low after,  if  that  they  may  apprehend  that  for 
which  they  are  also  apprehended  of  Christ 
Jesus ;  forgetting  the  things  that  are  behind, 
and  reaching  forth  unto  those  things  which 
are  before,  they  press  toward  the  mark  for  the 
prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus.  Their  conversation  is  in  heaven; 
from  whence  also  they  look  for  the  Saviour, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  change  our 
vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto 


HOLY  LIVING.  355 

his  glorious  body,  according  to  the  working 
whereby  he  is  able  to  subdue  all  things  unto 
himself. 

Again,  as  God  is  holy,  it  is  necessary  that 
his  people  should  be  holy.  There  can  be  no 
communion  without  concord,  or  congeniality. 
If  one  loves  what  another  hates,  approves 
what  another  condemns,  desires  what  another 
rejects,  there  can  be  no  fellowship  between 
them.  What  concord  hath  Christ  with 
Belial;  or  what  fellowship  hath  light  with 
darkness?  So  long,  therefore,  as  we  are 
what  God  disapproves ;  so  long  as  we  do  not 
love  what  he  loves,  there  can  be  no  fellow- 
ship between  him  and  us.  Hence  Christ 
says,  Marvel  not  that  I  said  unto  you,  ye 
must  be  born  again.  That  which  is  born  of 
the  flesh,  is  flesh ;  and  that  which  is  born  of 
the  Spirit,  is  spirit.  The  carnal  mind  is  en- 
mity against  God,  and  so  long  as  this  prevails 
it  is  impossible  that  we  should  enjoy  his  pre- 
sence. As  God  is  the  only  adequate  portion 
of  the  soul ;  as  his  favour  and  fellowship  are 
essential  to  our  happiness ;  as  heaven  consists 
in  seeing,  loving  and  serving  God,  it  is  plain 
that  unless  we  are  sanctified  we  cannot  be 
saved ;  we  cannot  enjoy  the  society,  the  em- 
ployments, or  the  pleasures  of  the  people  of 


356  HOLY  LIVING. 

God  above,  if  we  take  no  delight  in  them 
here.  The  necessity  of  holiness,  therefore, 
arises  out  of  the  very  nature  of  God,  and  is 
consequently  absolute  and  unchangeable. 

We  know  also  that  holiness  is  the  end  of 
redemption.  Christ  gave  himself  for  his 
church,  that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it, 
and  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blem- 
ish. He  died  the  just  for  the  unjust  that  he 
might  bring  us  unto  God.  The  object  of  re- 
demption is  not  attained  in  the  case  of  those 
who  remain  in  sin ;  in  other  words,  they  are 
not  redeemed.  It  is,  therefore,  to  subvert  the 
whole  Gospel,  and  to  make  the  death  of 
Christ  of  none  effect,  to  suppose  that  redemp- 
tion and  continuance  in  sin  are  compatible. 
The  whole  design  and  purpose  of  the  mission 
and  sufferings  of  the  Saviour  would  be  frus- 
trated if  his  people  were  not  made  partakers 
of  his  holiness ;  for  the  glory  of  God  is  pro- 
moted in  them  and  by  them  only  so  far  as 
they  are  made  holy,  and  the  recompense  of 
the  Redeemer  is  his  bringing  his  people  into 
conformity  to  his  own  image,  that  he  may  be 
the  first-born  among  many  brethren.  Every 
child  of  God  feels  that  the  charm  and  glory 
of  redemption  is  deliverance  from  sin  and 
conformity  to   God.     This  is   the  crown  of 


HOLY  LIVING.  357 

righteousness,  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of 
God,  the  exaltation  and  blessedness  for  which 
he  longs  and  suffers  and  prays.  To  tell  him 
that  he  may  be  saved  without  being  made 
holy,  is  to  confound  all  his  ideas  of  salvation, 
and  to  crush  all  his  hopes.  The  nature  of 
salvation,  the  character  of  God,  the  declara- 
tions of  his  word,  the  design  of  redemption, 
all  concur  to  prove  that  holiness  is  absolutely 
and  indispensably  necessary,  so  that  whatever 
we  may  be,  or  whatever  we  may  have,  if  we 
are  not  holy,  we  are  not  the  children  of  God 
nor  the  heirs  of  his  kingdom. 

Section  II.     The  mean$  of  sanctijication. 

The  attainment  of  holiness  is  often  treated, 
even  by  Christian  writers,  as  a  mere  question 
of  morals,  or  at  most  of  natural  religion. 
Men  are  directed  to  control,  by  the  force  of 
reason,  their  vicious  propensities;  to  set  in 
array  before  the  mind  the  motives  to  virtuous 
living,  and  to  strengthen  the  will  by  acts  of 
self-restraint.  Conscience  is  summoned  to 
sanction  the  dictates  of  reason,  or  to  warn  the 
sinner  of  the  consequences  of  transgression. 
The  doctrines  of  the  presence  and  providence 
of  God,  and  of  future  retribution,  are  more  or 


358  HOLY  LIVING. 

less  relied  upon  to  prevent  the  indulgence  of 
sin,  and  to  stimulate  to  the  practice  of  virtue. 
Special  directions  are  given  how  to  cultivate 
virtuous  habits,  or  to  correct  those  which  are 
evil. 

As  we  are  rational  beings  and  were  meant 
to  be  governed  by  reason  in  opposition  to  ap- 
petite and  passion,  there  is  much  that  is  true 
and  important  in  such  disquisitions  on  the 
practice  of  virtue.  But  as  we  are  depraved 
beings,  destitute  of  any  recuperative  power  in 
ourselves,  such  rules  and  the  efforts  to  which 
they  lead,  must,  by  themselves,  be  ineffectual. 
God  has  endowed  the  body  with  a  restorative 
energy,  which  enables  it  to  throw  off  what  is 
noxious  to  the  system,  and  to  heal  the 
wounds,  which  accident  or  malice  may  have 
inflicted.  But  when  the  system  itself  is  de- 
ranged, instead  of  correcting  what  is  amiss, 
it  aggravates  what  would,  otherwise,  be  a 
mere  temporary  disorder.  And  if  by  exter- 
nal means  the  evil  is  checked  in  one  part,  it 
re-appears  in  another.  Though  you  ampu- 
tate a  decaying  limb,  the  remaining  portion 
soon  exhibits  symptoms  of  mortification.  So 
long  as  the  system  is  deranged  such  means 
are  mere  palliatives,  concealing  or  diverting 
the  evil,  but  leaving  the  source  of  it  untouch- 


HOLY  LIVING.  359 

ed.     It  is  no  less  true  that  so  long  as  the 
heart  is  unrenewed,  all  that  reason  and  con- 
science can  do  is  of  little  avail.     They  may 
obstruct  the  stream,  or  divert  it  into  secret 
channels,  but  they  cannot  reach  the  fountain. 
As  v^e  retain  since  the  fall,  reason,  the  power 
of  choice,  conscience,  the  social  affections,  a 
sense  of  justice,  fear,  shame,  &c.,  much  may 
may  be  done,  by  a  skilful  management  of 
these  principles  of  action,  towards  producing 
propriety  of  conduct  and  even  great  amiabili- 
ty and  worth  of  character.     But  it  is  impos- 
sible, by  these  means,  to  call  into  existence 
right  views  and  feelings  towards  God  and 
our  neighbour,  or  to  eradicate  the  selfishness, 
pride  and  other  forms  of  evil  by  which  our 
nature  is  corrupted.     A  man  may  be  brought, 
by  reason  and  conscience,  to  change  his  con- 
duct, but  not  to  change  his  heart.     A  sense  of 
duty  may  force  him  to  give  alms  to  a  man  he 
hates,  but  it  cannot  change  hatred  into  love. 
The  desire  of  happiness  may  induce  him  to 
engage  externally  in  the  service  of  God,  but 
it  cannot  make  that  service  a  delight.     The 
affections  do  not  obey  the  dictates  of  reason, 
nor   the   commands    of    conscience.      They 
may  be  measurably  restrained  in  their  mani- 
festations, but  cannot  be  changed  in  their  na- 


360  HOLY  LIVING. 

ture.  They  follow  their  own  law.  They 
delight  ia  what  is  suited  to  the  disposition  of 
him  who  exercises  them.  Holding  up  to 
them  what  they  ought  to  delight  in,  cannot 
secure  their  devotion. 

It  is  not  meant  to  depreciate  reason  and 
conscience,  but  it  is  necessary  that  their  true 
province  should  be  known,  that  we  may  not 
rely  upon  inadequate  means  in  our  efforts  to 
become  holy.  Though  Scripture  and  expe- 
rience teach  us  that  our  own  unaided  powers 
are  insufficient  to  bring  us  to  the  knowledge 
and  love  of  God,  the  rules  which  reason  sug- 
gests for  the  culture  of  moral  excellence,  are, 
for  the  renewed  man,  far  from  being  destitute 
of  value.  It  is  no  doubt  of  importance  that 
we  should  be  acquainted  with  the  counsels  of 
the  wise  on  this  subject,  and  that  w^e  should 
habituate  ourselves  to  the  vigilant  use  of  all 
these  subordinate  means  of  improvement ;  re- 
membering, however,  that  it  is  not  by  the 
strength  of  our  own  purposes,  nor  by  the 
force  of  moral  considerations,  nor  by  any 
rules  of  discipline,  that  the  life  of  God  in  the 
soul  can  be  either  produced  or  sustained. 

While  one  class  of  men  place  their  chief 
reliance  for  moral  improvement  upon  reason 
and  conscience,  another,  and  perhaps  a  larger 


HOLY  LIVING.  361 

class,  rely  upon  means  which,  though  they 
have  no  tendency  in  themselves  to  produce 
holiness,  are  falsely  assumed  to  have,  in  vir- 
tue of  the  appointment  of  God,  an  inherent 
efficacy  for  that  purpose.  Such  are  not  only 
the  ablutions,  pilgrimages  and  penances  of 
the  heathen,  but  the  multiplied  rites  of  cor- 
rupt Christian  churches.  Sprinkling  the 
body  with  consecrated  water,  the  repetition 
of  forms  of  prayer,  attendance  upon  religious 
services  not  understood,  anointing  with  oil, 
the  imposition  of  hands,  receiving,  though 
without  faith,  the  holy  sacraments,  are  sup- 
posed to  convey  grace  to  the  soul.  Great  re- 
liance is  placed  on  retirement  from  the  world ; 
on  praying  at  particular  times  or  places,  or 
in  a  particular  posture,  and  on  the  whole 
routine  of  ascetic  discipline.  With  what  la- 
borious and  unavailing  diligence  these  means 
of  destroying  sin  have  been  employed,  the 
history  of  the  church  gives  melancholy  evi- 
dence. Even  in  the  days  of  the  apostles  the 
dispositions  to  rely  on  such  means  for  attain- 
ing holiness  had  begun  to  manifest  itself 
There  were  even  then  men  who  commanded 
to  abstain  from  meats,  who  forbade  marriage, 
who  said,  taste  not,  touch  not,  handle  not; 
which  things,  says  the  apostle,  have  indeed  a 
31 


362  HOLY  LIVING. 

show  of  wisdom  in  will-worship  and  humili- 
ty, and  in  neglecting  and  dishonouring  the 
body,  and  yet  only  served  to  satisfy  the  ftesh.* 
The  Scriptures  teach  us  a  different  doc- 
trine. They  teach  that  believers  are  so  uni- 
ted to  Christ,  that  they  are  not  only  parta- 
kers of  the  merit  of  his  death,  but  also  of  his 
Holy  Spirit,  which  dwells  in  them  as  a  prin- 
ciple of  life,  bringing  them  more  and  more 
into  conformity  with  the  image  of  God,  and 
working  in  them  both  to  will  and  to  do,  ac- 
cording to  his  own  good  pleasure.  They 
teach  that  so  long  as  men  are  under  the  law, 
that  is,  are  bound  to  satisfy  its  demands  as 
the  ground  of  their  acceptance  with  God  and 
are  governed  by  a  legal  spirit,  or  a  mere 
sense  of  duty  and  fear  of  punishment,  they 
are  in  the  condition  of  slaves;  incapable  of 
right  feelings  towards  God,  or  of  producing 
the  fruits  of  holiness.  But  when,  by  the 
death  of  Christ,  they  are  freed  from  the  law, 
in  the  sense  above  stated,  their  whole  relation 
to  God  is  changed.  They  are  no  longer 
slaves,  but  children.  Being  united  to  Christ 
in  his  death,  they  are  partakers  of  his  life, 
and  in  virtue  of  this  union  they  bring  forth 
fruit  unto  God.     They  are  henceforth  led  by 

*  Col.  ii.  21—23. 


HOLY  LIVING.  363 

the  Spirit  which  dwells  in  them;  and  this 
Spirit  is  a  source  of  life  not  only  to  the  soul 
but  also  to  the  body ;  for  if  the  Spirit  of  him 
that  raised  Christ  from  the  dead,  dwell  in  us, 
he  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall 
also  quicken  our  bodies,  by  his  Spirit  that 
dwelleth  in  us.  The  doctrine  of  sanctifica- 
tion,  therefore,  as  taught  in  the  Bible  is,  that 
we  are  made  holy  not  by  the  force  of  con- 
science, nor  of  moral  motives,  nor  by  acts  of 
discipline,  but  by  being  united  to  Christ  so 
as  to  become  reconciled  to  God,  and  partakers 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Christ  is  made  unto  us 
sanctification  as  well  as  justification.  He  not 
only  frees  from  the  penalty  of  the  law,  but  he 
makes  holy.  There  is,  therefore,  according 
to  the  gospel,  no  such  thing  as  sanctification, 
without  or  before  justification.  Those  who 
are  out  of  Christ  are  under  the  power,  as  well 
as  under  the  condemnation  of  sin.  And 
those  who  are  in  Christ  are  not  only  free 
from  condemnation,  but  are  also  delivered 
from  the  dominion  of  sin. 

The  nature  of  the  union  between  Christ 
and  his  people,  on  which  so  much  depends, 
is  confessedly  mysterious.  Paul  having  said, 
We  are  members  of  his  body,  of  his  flesh,  and 
of  his  bones,  immediately  adds,   This  is  a 


364  HOLY  LIVING. 

great  mystery.*  It  is  in  vain,  therefore,  to 
attempt  to  bring  this  subject  down  to  the 
level  of  our  comprehension.  The  mode  in* 
which  God  is  present  and  operates  through- 
out the  universe,  is  to  us  an  impenetrable  se- 
cret. We  cannot  even  understand  how  our 
own  souls  are  present  and  operate  in  the  bo- 
dies which  they  occupy.  We  need  not,  then, 
expect  to  comprehend  the  mode  in  which 
Christ  dwells  by  his  Spirit  in  the  hearts  of 
his  people.  The  fact  that  such  union  exists, 
is  clearly  revealed;  its  effects  are  explicitly 
stated,  and  its  nature  is  set  forth  as  far  as  it 
can  be  made  known  by  the  most  striking  il- , 
lustrations.  In  his  intercessory  prayer,  our 
Saviour  said,  I  pray — that  they  all  may  be 
one,  as  thou  Father  art  in  me  and  I  in  thee, 
that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us. — I  in  them, 
and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  made  per- 
fect in  one.f  He  that  keepeth  his  command- 
ments, says  the  apostle,  dwelleth  in  him,  and 
he  in  him;  and  hereby  we  know  that  he 
abideth  in  us,  by  the  Spirit,  which  he  hath 
given  us.  I  If  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his,  but  if  Christ  be 
in  you,  the  body,  (adds  the  apostle,)  may  die, 

*  Eph.  V.  32.        t  John  xvii.  21,  23.        \  i  John  iii.  24. 


HOLY  LIVING.  365 

but  the  soul  shall  live.^  Know  ye  not,  asks 
Paul,  That  your  body  is  the  temple  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  is  in  you,  which  ye  have 
of  God,  and  ye  are  not  your  own?t  And  to 
the  same  effect.  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the 
temple  of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
dwelleth  in  you? J 

The  Scriptures  are  filled  with  this  doc- 
trine. The  great  promise  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, in  connexion  with  the  advent  of  the 
Messiah  was,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  should 
then  be  abundantly  communicated  to  men. 
Christ  is  said  to  have  redeemed  us  in  order 
that  we  might  receive  this  promised  Spirit.^ 
And  the  only  evidence  of  a  participation  of 
the  benefits  of  redemption,  recognised  by  the 
apostles,  was  the  participation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  manifesting  itself  either  in  the  extra- 
ordinary powers  which  he  then  communi- 
cated, or  in  those  lovely  fruits  of  holiness 
which  never  fail  to  mark  his  presence. 

The  effects  ascribed  to  this  union,  as  alrea- 
dy stated,  are  an  interest  in  the  merits  of 
Christ,  in  order  to  our  justification,  and  the 
indwelling  of  his  Spirit  in  order  to  our  sanc- 
tification.     Its  nature  is  variously  illustrated. 

*  Rom.  viii.  9—11.  t  1  Cor.  vi.  19. 

I  1  Cor.  iii.  16.  5  Gal.  hi.  13,  14. 

31* 


366  HOLY  LIVING. 

It  is  compared  to  that  union  which  subsists 
between  a  representative  and  those  for  whom 
he  acts.  In  this  view  Adam  is  said  to  be  like 
Christ,  and  Christ  is  said  to  be  the  second 
Adam ;  for  as  in  Adam  all  die,  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive.  This  idea  is  also 
presented  whenever  Christ  is  said  to  have 
died  for  his  sheep,  or  in  their  place ;  or  when 
they  are  said  to  have  died  with  him,  his  death 
being  virtually  their  death,  satisfying  in  their 
behalf  the  demands  of  justice,  and  redeeming 
them  from  the  curse  of  the  law.  It  is  com- 
pared to  the  union  between  the  head  and 
members  of  the  same  body.  The  meaning 
of  this  illustration  is  by  no  means  exhausted 
by  saying  that  Christ  governs  his  people,  or 
that  there  is  a  community  of  feeling  and  in- 
terest between  them.  The  main  idea  is  that 
there  is  a  community  of  life ;  that  the  same 
Spirit  dwells  in  him  and  in  them.  As  the 
body  is  every  where  animated  by  one  soul, 
which  makes  it  one  and  communicates  a  com- 
mon life  to  all  its  parts ;  so  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  dwells  in  Christ,  is  by  him  communi- 
cated to  all  his  people,  and  makes  them,  in  a 
peculiar  sense,  one  with  him  and  one  among 
themselves,  and  imparts  to  all,  that  life  which 
has  its  seat  and  source  in  him.     As  the  body 


HOLY  LIVING.  367 

is  one,  and  hath  many  members,  and  all  the 
members  of  that  one  body,  being  many  are 
one  body ;  so  also  is  Christ,  for  by  one  Spirit 
are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body — and  have 
all  been  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit.*  An- 
other illustration,  but  of  the  same  import,  is 
employed  by  Christ,  w^hen  he  says,  I  am  the 
vine,  ye  are  the  branches;  he  that  abideth  in 
nje  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forth 
much  fruit ;  for  w^ithout  me  ye  can  do  nothing. 
As  the  branches  are  so  united  to  the  vine  as 
to  partake  of  its  life  and  to  be  absolutely  de- 
pendent upon  it,  so  believers  are  so  united  to 
Christ  as  to  partake  of  his  life  and  to  be  ab- 
solutely dependent  on  him.  The  Holy  Spirit 
communicated  by  him  to  them,  is,  in  them, 
the  principle  of  life  and  fruitfulness. 

Christ  and  his  people  are  one.  He  is  the 
foundation,  they  are  the  building.  He  is  the 
vine,  they  are  the  branches.  He  is  the  head, 
they  are  the  body.  Because  he  lives,  they 
shall  live  also ;  for  it  is  not  they  that  live,  but 
Christ  that  liveth  in  them.  The  Holy  Spirit, 
concerning  which  he  said  to  his  disciples. 
He  dwelleth  with  you  and  shall  be  in  you,  is 
to  them  not  only  the  source  of  spiritual  life, 
but  of  all  its  manifestations.     They  are  bap- 

*  1  Cor.  xii.  12,  13. 


368  HOLY  LIVING. 

tized  by  the  Spirit;*  they  are  born  of  the 
Spirit;!  they  are  called  spiritual,  because  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwells  in  them; J  whereas,  the 
unregenerate  are  called  natural,  or  sensual, 
''not  having  the  Spirit."^  Believers  are 
sanctiJfied  by  the  Spirit  ;||  they  are  led  by  the 
Spirit ;ir  they  live  in  the  Spirit;**  they  are 
strengthened  by  the  Spirit  ;tt  they  are  filled 
with  the  Spirit.JJ  By  the  Spirit  they  mor- 
tify sin;H  through  the  Spirit,  they  wait  for 
the  hope  of  righteousness  ;||  ||  they  have  access 
to  God  by  the  Spirit; If H  they  pray  and  sing, 
in  the  Spirit .***  The  Spirit  is  to  them  a 
source  of  knowledge,ttt  of  joy,Mt  <^f  ^^^^^ 
long-suffering,  goodness,  faith,  meekness, 
temperance.  H^  This  doctrine  of  the  in- 
dwelling of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  so  wrought 
into  the  texture  of  the  Gospel  as  to  be  abso- 
lutely essential  to  it.  It  ceases  to  be  the  Gos- 
pel if  we  abstract  from  it  the  great  truth,  that 

*  Luke  iii.  16.  f  John  iii.  5. 

t  1  Cor.  iii.  16.  J  Jude  10. 

II  ICor.  vi.  11.  IT  Rom.  viii.  14. 
**  Gal.  V.  25.  tt  Eph.  iii.  16. 
tt  Eph.  V.  18.  55  Rom.  viii.  13. 
nil  Gal.  V.  5.  iriF  Eph.  ii.  18. 
***  1  Cor.  xiv.  15.  ttt  Eph.  i.  17. 

III  1  Thess  i.  6.  555  Gal.  v.  22. 


HOLY  LIVING.  369 

the  Spirit  of  God,  as  the  purchase  and  gift  of 
Christ,  is  ever  present  with  his  people,  guid- 
ing their  inward  exercises  and  outward  con- 
duct, and  bringing  them  at  last,  without  spot 
or  blemish,  to  the  purity  and  blessedness  of 
heaven. 

The  secret  of  holy  living  lies  in  this  doc- 
trine of  the  union  of  the  believer  with  Christ. 
This  is  not  only  the  ground  of  his  hope  of 
pardon,  but  the  source  of  the  strength  where- 
by he  dies  unto  sin  and  lives  unto  righteous- 
ness. It  is  by  being  rooted  and  grounded  in 
Christ  that  he  is  strengthened  with  might  by 
his  Spirit  in  the  inner  man,  and  is  enabled 
to  comprehend  the  breadth,  and  length,  and 
depth  and  height  of  the  mystery  of  redemp- 
tion and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  which 
passes  knowledge  and  is  filled  with  all  the 
fulness  of  God.  It  is  this  doctrine  which 
sustains  him  under  all  his  trials,  and  enables 
him  to  triumph  over  all  his  enemies,  for  it  is 
not  he  that  lives,  but  Christ  that  lives  in  him, 
giving  him  grace  sufficient  for  his  day,  and 
purifying  him  unto  himself,  as  one  of  his  pe- 
culiar people  zealous  of  good  works. 

As  union  with  Christ  is  the  source  of  spiri- 
tual life,  the  means  by  which  that  life  is  to 
be  maintained  and  promoted,  are  all  related 


370  HOLY  LIVING. 

to  this  doctrine  and  derive  from  it  all  their 
efficacy.  Thus  we  are  said  to  be  purified  by 
faith,*  to  be  sanctified  by  faith,t  to  live  by 
faith 4  to  be  saved  by  faith.  ^  Faith  has  this 
important  agency  because  it  is  the  bond  of 
our  union  with  Christ.  It  not  only  gives  us 
the  right  to  plead  his  merits  for  our  justifica- 
tion, but  it  makes  us  partakers  of  his  Holy 
Spirit.  Christ  has  promised  that  all  who 
come  to  him  sTiall  receive  the  water  of  life, 
by  which  the  apostle  tells  us  is  meant  the 
Holy  Spirit.  It  is  by  faith,  and  in  the  per- 
suasion of  our  consequent  union  with  Christ, 
that  we  have  confidence  to  draw  near  to  God 
and  to  open  our  souls  to  the  sanctifying  influ- 
ence of  his  love.  It  is  by  faith  that  we  re- 
ceive of  his  fulness  and  grace  for  grace.  It 
is  by  faith  that  we  look  to  him  for  strength  to 
overcome  temptations  and  to  discharge  our 
duties.  It  is  by  faith  that  we  receive  those 
exceeding  great  and  precious  promises, 
whereby  we  are  made  partakers  of  the  divine 
nature. 

All  Christians  know  from  experience  that 
faith  in  Christ  is  the  source  of  their  holiness 
and  peace.     When  beset  with  temptations  to 

*  Acts  XV.  9.  j-  Acts  xxvi.  18. 

I  Gal.  ii.  20.  }  Eph.  ii.  8. 


HOLY  LIVING.  371 

despondency  or  sin,  if  they  look  to  him  for 
support,  they  are  conscious  of  a  strength  to 
resist,  or  to  endure,  which  no  effort  of  will 
and  no  influence  of  motives  ever  could  im- 
part. When  they  draw  near  to  God  as  the 
members  of  Christ,  they  have  freedom  of  ac- 
cess and  experience  a  joy  which  is  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory.  When  pressed  down 
by  afflictions  if  they  remember  that  they  are 
one  with  him  who  suffered  for  them,  leaving 
them  an  example,  they  rejoice  in  their  tribu- 
lations, knowing  that  if  they  suffer  they  shall 
also  reign  with  him. 

Moreover,  as  in  virtue  of  union  with  Christ 
we  receive  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  source  of 
spiritual  life,  to  maintain  that  life  we  must 
avoid  every  thing  which  may  provoke  the 
Spirit  to  withdraw  from  us.  The  Bible 
teaches  us  that  the  Spirit  may  be  grieved ; 
that  his  influences  may  be  quenched ;  that 
God,  in  judgment,  often  withdraws  them 
from  those  who  thus  offend.  Evil  thoughts, 
unholy  tempers,  acts  of  transgression  are  to 
be  avoided  not  merely  as  sins,  but  as  offences 
against  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  must  remem- 
ber that  to  defile  the  soul  with  sin,  or  the 
body  by  intemperance  or  impurity,  is  sacri- 
lege, because  we  are  the  members  of  Christ 


372  HOLY  LIVING. 

and  our  bodies  the  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
On  the  other  hand,  right  thoughts,  just  pur- 
poses, holy  desires  are  to  be  cherished,  not 
only  as  right  in  themselves,  but  as  proceed- 
ing from  that  heavenly  agent  on  whom  we 
are  dependent  for  sanctification. 

This  is  a  very  different  thing  from  oppo- 
sing sin  and  cultivating  right  feelings  on 
mere  moral  considerations,  and  in  dependence 
on  our  own  strength.  This  may  be  what 
the  world  calls  morality,  but  it  is  not  what 
the  Bible  calls  religion.  Such  considerations 
ought  to  have  and  ever  will  have,  with  the 
Christian,  their  due  weight ;  but  they  are  not 
his  dependence  in  his  efforts  to  become  holy, 
nor  is  his  reliance  upon  his  own  resources. 
The  life  which  he  leads  is  by  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  it  is  by  constant  reference  to  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  dependence  on  him  that 
that  life  is  maintained.  For  it  is  as  inconsis- 
tent with  the  religion  of  the  Gospel,  to  sup- 
pose that  we  can  make  ourselves  holy  by  our 
own  strength,  as  that  we  can  be  justified  by 
our  own  works. 

It  is  principally  through  the  efficacy  of 
prayer  that  we  receive  the  communications 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Prayer  is  not  a  mere  in- 
stinct of  a  dependent  nature,  seeking  help 


HOLY  LIVING.  373 

from  the  author  of  its  being ;  nor  is  it  to  be 
viewed  simply  as  a  natural  expression  of  faith 
and  desire,  or  as  a  mode  of  communion  with 
the  Father  of  our  spirits ;  but  it  is  also  to  be 
regarded  as  the  appointed  means  of  obtaining 
the  Holy  Ghost.  If  ye  being  evil,  know  how 
to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children ;  how 
much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him.  Hence 
we  are  urged  to  be  constant  and  importunate 
in  prayer,  praying  especially  for  those  com- 
munications of  divine  influence  by  which  the 
life  of  God  in  the  soul  is  maintained  and  pro- 
moted. 

The  doctrine  that  the  Holy  Spirit  works 
in  the  people  of  God  both  to  will  and  to  do 
according  to  his  own  good  pleasure,  is  not  in- 
consistent with  the  diligent  use  of  all  rational 
and  scriptural  means,  on  our  part,  to  grow  in 
grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  God.  For 
though  the  mode  of  the  Spirit's  influence  is 
inscrutable,  it  is  still  the  influence  of  a  ration- 
al being  on  a  rational  subject.  It  is  descri- 
bed as  an  enlightening,  teaching,  persuading 
process,  all  which  terms  suppose  a  rational 
subject  rationally  affected.  The  indwelling 
of  the  Spirit,  therefore,  in  the  people  of  God, 
does  not  supersede  their  own  agency.  He 
32 


374  HOLY  LIVING. 

acts  by  leading  them  to  act.  Thus  we  are 
commanded  to  do,  and  in  fact  must  do,  what 
he  is  said  to  do  for  us.  We  believe,  though 
faith  is  of  the  operation  of  God ;  we  repent, 
though  repentance  is  the  gift  of  Christ ;  we 
love,  though  love,  gentleness,  goodness  and 
all  other  graces  are  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit. 
The  work  of  sanctification  is  carried  on  by 
our  being  thus  led  under  this  divine  influence 
to  exercise  right  dispositions  and  feelings. 
For  the  law  of  our  nature,  which  connects  an 
increase  of  strength  with  the  repeated  exer- 
cise of  any  of  our  powers,  is  not  suspended 
with  regard  to  the  holy  disposition  of  the  re- 
newed soul.  Philosophers  say  that  the  vi- 
brations imparted  to  the  atmosphere  by  the 
utterance  of  a  word  never  cease.  However 
this  may  be,  it  is  certain  every  pious  emotion 
strengthens  the  principle  of  piety,  and  leaves 
the  soul  permanently  better.  The  good  de- 
rived from  that  influence,  or  from  those  ser- 
vices which  call  our  love,  faith,  or  gratitude 
into  exercise,  is  not  transient  as  the  exercises 
themselves.  Far  from  it.  One  hour's  com- 
munion with  God  produces  an  impression 
never  to  be  effaced ;  it  renders  the  soul  for 
ever  less  susceptible  of  evil  and  more  suscep- 
tible of  good.     And  as  the  Holy  Spirit  is  ever 


HOLY  LIVING.  375 

exciting  the  soul  to  the  exercise  of  holiness, 
and  bringing  it  into  communion  with  God, 
he  thus  renders  it  more  and  more  holy,  and 
better  fitted  for  the  unchanging  and  perfect 
holiness  of  heaven. 

It  is  principally  by  the  contemplation  of 
the  truth,  the  worship  of  God,  and  the  dis- 
charge of  duty  that  these  holy  exercises  are 
called  into  being.  All  thought  and  affection 
suppose  an  object  on  which  they  terminate, 
and  which,  when  presented,  tends  to  call 
them  forth.  We  cannot  fear  God  unless  his 
holiness  and  power  be  present  to  the  mind ; 
we  cannot  love  him  except  in  view  of  his  ex- 
cellence and  goodness;  we  cannot  believe, 
except  in  contemplation  of  his  word,  nor 
hope,  unless  in  view  of  his  promises.  As 
these  affections  suppose  their  appropriate  ob- 
jects, so  these  objects  tend  to  excite  the  affec- 
tions. Were  it  not  for  our  depravity,  they 
never  could  be  brought  into  view  without  the 
corresponding  affection  rising  to  meet  them. 
And  notwithstanding  our  depravity,  their 
tendency,  resulting  from  their  inherent  na- 
ture, remains,  and  as  that  depravity  is  cor- 
rected or  removed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  these 
objects  exert  on  the  soul  their  appropriate  in- 
fluence.    We  are,  therefore,  said  to  be  sane- 


376  HOLY  LIVING. 

tified  by  the  truth;*  to  be  made  clean 
through  the  word  of  Christ;!  to  be  born 
again  by  the  word  of  truth  ;t  to  be  changed 
into  the  image  of  God  by  beholding  his 
glory.  ^ 

It  is  most  unreasonable  to  expect  to  be  con- 
formed to  the  image  of  God,  unless  the  truth 
concerning  God  be  made  to  operate  often  and 
continuously  upon  the  mind.  How  can  a 
heart  that  is  filled  with  the  thoughts  and 
cares  of  the  world,  and  especially  one  which 
is  often  moved  to  evil  by  the  thoughts  or 
sight  of  sin,  expect  that  the  affections  which 
answer  to  the  holiness,  goodness  or  greatness 
of  God  should  gather  strength  within  it? 
How  can  the  love  of  Christ  increase  in  the 
bosoms  of  those  who  hardly  ever  think  of 
him  or  of  his  work  ?  This  cannot  be  without 
a  change  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  and, 
therefore,  we  cannot  make  progress  in  holi- 
ness unless  we  devote  much  time  to  the  read- 
ing, and  hearing,  and  meditating  upon  the 
word  of  God,  which  is  the  truth  whereby  we 
are  sanctified.  The  more  this  truth  is 
brought  before  the  mind ;  the  more  we  com- 
mune with  it,  entering  into  its  import,  apply 

^  John  xvii.  19.  t  John  xv.  3. 

\  James  i.  18.  }  2  Cor.  iii.  18. 


HOLY  LIVING.  377 

ing  it  to  our  own  case,  appropriating  its  prin- 
ciples, appreciating  its  motives,  rejoicing  in 
its  promises,  trembling  at  its  threatenings, 
rising  by  its  influence  from  what  is  seen  and 
temporal  to  what  is  unseen  and  eternal ;  the 
more  may  we  expect  to  be  transformed  by  the 
renewing  of  our  mind  so  as  to  approve  and 
love  whatever  is  holy,  just  and  good.  Men 
distinguished  for  their  piety  have  ever  been 
men  of  meditation  as  well  as  men  of  prayer ; 
men  accustomed  to  withdraw  the  mind  from 
the  influence  of  the  world  with  its  thousand 
joys  and  sorrows,  and  to  bring  it  under  the 
influence  of  the  doctrines,  precepts  and  pro- 
mises of  the  word  of  God.     * 

Besides  the  contemplation  of  the  truth,  the 
worship  of  God  is  an  important  means  of 
growing  in  grace.  It  not  only  includes  the 
exercise  and  expression  of  all  pious  feelings, 
which  are  necessarily  strengthened  by  the 
exercise,  but  it  is  the  appointed  means  of 
holding  communion  with  God  and  receiving 
the  communications  of  his  grace.  They  that 
w^ait  on  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength ; 
they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles, 
they  shall  walk  and  not  be  weary,  they  shall 
run  and  not  faint.  Blessed  are  they  that 
dwell  in  thy  house ;  they  shall  be  still  prais- 
32^ 


378  HOLY  LIVING. 

ing  thee.  They  shall  go  from  strength  to 
strength,  till  they  appear  before  God  in  Zion. 
This  is  a  matter  of  experience  as  well  as  re- 
velation. The  people  of  God  have  ever  found 
in  the  private,  social,  and  public  worship  of 
the  Father  of  their  spirits,  the  chief  means  of 
renewing  their  spiritual  strength.  The  sanc- 
tuary is  the  temple  of  God  on  earth  whose 
services  are  preparatory  to  those  of  the  temple 
not  made  with  hands  eternal  in  the  heavens. 
It  is  here  too  that  the  sacraments,  as  means 
of  grace,  have  their  appropriate  place.  They 
are  to  us  what  the  sacrifices  and  rites  of  the 
old  dispensation  were  to  the  Israelites.  They 
exhibit  and  seal  the  truth  and  promises  of 
God,  and  convey  to  those  who  worthily  re- 
ceive them,  the  blessings  which  they  repre- 
sent. The  Christian,  therefore,  who  is  de- 
sirous of  increasing  in  the  knowledge  and 
love  of  God,  will  be  a  faithful  attendant  on 
all  the  appointed  forms  and  occasions  of  di- 
vine worship.  He  will  be  much  in  his  closet, 
he  will  be  punctual  in  the  sanctuary  and  at 
the  table  of  the  Lord.  He  will  seek  oppor- 
tunities of  fellowship  with  God,  as  a  friend 
seeks  intercourse  with  his  friend;  and  the 
more  he  can  enjoy  of  this  communion,  the 
better  will  he  be  prepared  for  that  perfect  fel- 


HOLY  LIVING.  379 

lowship  with  the  Father  of  lights  which  con- 
stitutes the  blessedness  of  heaven. 

Finally,  to  be  good,  we  must  do  good.  It 
has  been  falsely  said  that  action  is  the  whole 
of  oratory,  and  as  falsely  supposed  that  action 
is  the  whole  of  religion.  There  is  no  elo 
quence  in  action  except  as  it  is  expressive  of 
thought  and  feeling,  and  there  is  no  religion 
in  outward  acts  except  as  they  are  informed 
and  guided  by  a  pious  spirit.  It  is  only  by 
maintaining  such  a  spirit  that  external  works 
can  have  any  significance  or  value.  It  is 
perhaps  one  of  the  evil  tendencies  of  our  age, 
to  push  religion  out  of  doors ;  to  allow  her  no 
home  but  the  street  or  public  assembly;  to 
withhold  from  her  all  food  except  the  excite- 
ment of  loud  professions  and  external  mani- 
festations. This  is  to  destroy  her  power.  It 
is  to  cut  her  off  from  the  source  of  her 
strength,  and  to  transform  the  meek  and  holy 
visiter  from  heaven,  into  the  noisy  and 
bustling  inhabitant  of  the  earth.  It  is  so 
much  easier  to  be  religious  outwardly  than 
inwardly ;  to  be  active  in  church  duties,  than 
to  keep  the  heart  with  all  diligence,  that  we 
are  in  danger  of  preferring  the  form  of  reli- 
gion to  its  power.  The  same  love  of  excite- 
ment and  desire  to  be  busy  which  make  men 


380  HOLY  LIVING. 

active  in  v^orldly  pursuits,  may,  without 
changing  their  character,  make  them  active 
in  religious  exercises.  But  if  there  is  danger 
on  this  side,  there  is  quite  as  much  on  the 
other.  Although  religion  does  not  consist  in 
outward  acts,  it  always  produces  them.  Who- 
soever hath  this  world's  good,  and  seeth  his 
brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels 
of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth  the 
love  of  God  in  him  ?^  The  love  of  God  can 
no  more  fail  to  produce  obedience  to  his  com- 
mands, than  a  mother's  love  can  fail  to  pro- 
duce watchfulness  and  care  for  her  infant. 
That  man's  religion,  therefore,  is  vain  which 
expends  itself  in  exercises  that  relate  exclu- 
sively to  his  own  salvation.  And  doubtless 
many  Christians  go  halting  all  their  days,  be- 
cause they  confine  their  attention  too  much 
to  themselves.  It  is  only  by  the  harmonious 
exercise  of  all  the  graces,  of  faith  and  love 
towards  God,  and  of  justice  and  benevolence 
towards  men,  that  the  health  of  the  soul  can 
be  maintained  or  promoted.  It  is  not  merely 
because  the  exercise  of  benevolence  strength- 
ens the  principle  of  benevolence  that  doing 
good  tends  to  make  men  better,  but  God  has 
ordained  that  he  that  watereth  shall  be  water- 
*1  Johniii.  17. 


HOLY  LIVING.  381 

ed  also  himself.  He  distils  his  grace  on  those 
who  labour  for  the  temporal  and  spiritual 
benefit  of  their  fellow  men,  and  who  follow 
the  example  of  the  blessed  Redeemer,  walk- 
ing with  God  while  they  go  about  doing 
good. 

True  religion,  as  we  find  it  described  in 
the  Bible,  is  then  neither  an  external  show, 
nor  a  fitful  ebullition  of  feeling.  It  is  a  per- 
manent, spontaneous  and  progressive  princi- 
ple of  spiritual  life,  influencing  the  whole 
man  and  producing  all  the  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness. It  is  not  any  one  good  disposition,  but 
the  root  and  spring  of  all  right  feelings  and 
actions,  manifesting  itself  in  love  and  obe- 
dience towards  God,  in  justice  and  benevo- 
lence towards  man,  and  in  the  proper  govern- 
ment of  ourselves.  This  divine  life  can  nei- 
ther be  obtained  nor  continued  by  any  mere 
efforts  of  reason  or  conscience,  or  by  any  su- 
perstitious observances,  but  flows  from  our 
union  with  Christ,  who  causes  his  Holy 
Spirit  to  dwell  in  all  his  members.  In  order 
to  promote  this  divine  life  it  is  our  business 
to  avoid  every  thing  which  has  a  tendency  to 
grieve  the  Spirit  of  all  grace,  and  to  do  every 
thing  by  which  his  sacred  influence  on  the 
heart  may  be  cherished.     It  is  by  this  influ- 


382  HOLY  LIVING. 

ence  that  we  are  sanctified,  for  it  leads  us  to 
exercise  all  holy  dispositions  in  the  contem- 
plation of  the  truth,  in  the  worship  of  God, 
and  in  the  discharge  of  all  our  relative  duties. 
This  unpretending  volume,  designed  for 
the  use  of  educated  youth,  was  written  with 
the  view  of  impressing  on  its  readers  those 
great  truths  of  revelation  which  are  imme- 
diately connected  with  practical  religion. 
We  have  designed  to  convince  them  that  all 
skepticism  as  to  the  divine  authority  of  the 
Scriptures  is  inexcusable,  inasmuch  as  the 
Bible  brings  with  it  its  own  credentials.  It 
makes  such  a  revelation  of  the  character  of 
God,  of  the  rule  of  duty  and  of  the  plan  of 
salvation  as  challenges  immediate  assent  and 
submission  to  their  truth  and  goodness.  It 
sets  forth  the  Redeemer  as  the  Son  of  God 
and  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  in  whom  the  glory 
of  God  is  so  revealed  that  those  who  refuse  to 
recognise  him  as  their  God  and  Saviour,  re- 
fuse, to  infinite  excellence,  their  confidence 
and  obedience.  In  order  that  every  mouth 
may  be  stopped,  the  Bible,  thus  replete  with 
evidence  of  its  divine  origin,  is  confirmed  by 
all  kinds  of  adequate  proofs  from  miracles, 
prophecy  and  history,  that  it  is,  indeed,  the 
word  of  God. 


HOLY  LIVING.  383 

The  divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures 
being  established,  the  great  question  to  be  de- 
cided by  every  one  by  whom  they  are  known, 
is,  What  do  they  teach  as  to  the  plan  of  sal- 
vation and  the  rule  of  duty  ?  It  has  been  our 
design  to  aid  the  reader  in  answering  this 
question  for  himself;  to  show  him  that  the 
Bible  teaches  that  we  are  all  sinners,  and 
that,  being  sinners,  we  have  lost  the  favour 
of  God  and  are  unable  to  ejffect  our  own  re- 
demption. When  we  feel  that  this  is  true 
with  regard  to  ourselves,  we  are  convinced  of 
sin,  and  are  irresistibly  led  to  ask  what  we 
must  do  to  be  saved.  In  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion the  Scriptures  set  forth  Jesus  Christ  as 
born  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  satis- 
fying its  demands,  dying  the  just  for  the  un- 
just, rising  again  from  the  dead,  and  ascend- 
ing up  on  high,  where  he  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession  for  us.  They  teach  us  that  it  is 
not  for  any  thing  done  or  experienced  by  us, 
but  solely  for  what  Christ  has  done  for  us, 
that  we  are  justified  in  the  sight  of  God ;  and 
that  in  order  to  our  being  saved  through 
Christ,  we  must  accept  him  as  our  Saviour, 
not  going  about  to  establish  our  own  righte- 
ousness, but  submitting  to  the  righteousness 
of  God.     Those  who  thus  believe,  do,  at  the 


384  HOLY  LIVING. 

same  time  repent ;  that  is,  they  turn  from  sin 
unto  God,  through  Jesus  Christ.  They  are 
now  his  followers,  and  declare  themselves  to 
be  such  by  confessing  him  before  the  v^orld 
and  by  devoutly  attending  upon  those  ordi- 
nances which  he  has  appointed  to  be  means 
of  acknowledging  our  allegiance  to  him,  and 
of  communicating  his  grace  to  us.  The 
Scriptures  further  teach  that  our  work  is  but 
begun  when  we  have  thus  renounced  the 
world  and  joined  ourselves  unto  the  Lord. 
The  spiritual  life  commenced  in  regeneration 
is  carried  on  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  dwells 
in  all  the  people  of  God,  by  teaching  them  to 
look  to  Jesus  Christ,  as  their  living  head,  for 
all  those  supplies  of  grace  and  all  that  protec- 
tion which  their  circumstances  require.  They 
are  thus  washed,  sanctified  and  justified  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit 
of  our  God,  and  being  made  meet  for  the  in- 
heritance of  the  saints  in  light,  they  will  be 
at  last  admitted  into  God's  blissful  presence 
and  enjoy  the  full  communications  of  his 
grace  and  love  for  ever  and  ever. 

THE  END. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWEE 

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